Dirty Little Secrets
by Miss Singing in the Rain
Summary: Hugo Strange kept plenty of dirty little secrets during the creation of Arkham City, including a small, shy, eleven year old girl, alone and forgotten in the depths of Arkham Asylum. But when Strange releases her from her prison, will she be free at last or will the price of freedom be too much for her to pay?
1. The Girl in the Cell

**A/N: Ok, I've had this in my head for a while now, I just wanted to wait until I finished my Dark Knight fanfiction before starting to work on it. Anyway, please review and enjoy.**

The Child in the Cell

The Batman wandered through the halls of the TYGER Guard Facilities, searching for more Riddler Secrets to reveal the location of the next hostage. He'd been through the facility before but had been too focused on attempting to stop Protocol 10 to really explore and search the place. Using Detective Mode, the Batman discovered two bodies, hidden in rooms. Opening the door to the first room he discovered the body of a TYGER guard, who looked like he had died while being interrogated. He scanned the TYGER guard's corpse, solving the riddle "You don't want to be caught off-guard in this place, do you?" He then exited the room and headed for the next one. However, unlike the other room, the door to this one had a lock. The Batman took out his Cryptographic Sequencer and quickly hacked the code, which was simply the word, "SECRETS." The door unlocked, and the Batman opened it, entered the room, and again realized its difference from the other room. Lying on a cot, was a skinny, pale girl with long blonde hair about twelve, who was curled up in a ball and apparently sleeping. The Batman frowned internally; this girl looked far too young to be a hardened criminal and yet here she was, in the middle of Arkham City, home to the lowest of the low, the worst of the worst, and the craziest of the crazy. The girl's eyes snapped open suddenly and she shot straight up in her bed, looking into the darkness of the room where the Batman stood.

"Professor?" the girl asked in a soft, barely used, and unsure voice, shifting her legs so they hung over the edge of the cot. The Batman moved out of the shadows slowly, hoping not to scare her. The girl's eyes widened as he showed himself, but after a moment of looking at him, she muttered, "Batman… or do you prefer Bruce Wayne?" The Batman's throat tightened. Only three people in Arkham City knew his identity, and they had all died earlier that night. So how did this young girl know who he was?

"I'm here to help you. Are you hurt?" The girl shook her head.

"The screaming is gone. The people are safe… and the Professor is dead?"

"Professor Strange?" Batman asked. The girl nodded.

"Yes. He's dead." She looked down at her lap. However, she didn't seem to be mourning so much as thinking. But thinking over what exactly?

"Oracle, I need the file of every female Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Penitentiary inmate currently in Arkham City, excluding Selina Kyle, Pamela Isley, and Harleen Quinzel."

"Why? What have you found?"

"Apparently, the TYGER guards aren't the only inmates Strange was using in Arkham City. There's a young girl who was being held next to Strange's torture chamber."

"What? But there's no record of any adolescent inmates in either Blackgate or Arkham."

Batman frowned and glanced at the girl who was sitting on the bed and staring at him is she? Why was she here? And perhaps the most confusing of all, what did Strange need from her?

* * *

Hugo Strange wandered the halls of Arkham Asylum, looking over the patients deemed "most forgettable", the perfect subjects for Jervis Tetch to test on. Strange smiled to himself. Getting the former neurologist to cooperate had been child's play; all he had to do was provide the right motivation. Opening another door, he came across a rather strange sight. Lying on a cot, was a skinny, pale girl with long, limp blonde hair about eleven, who was curled up in a ball and apparently sleeping. Strange frowned; female patients were few and far between in Arkham Asylum, especially ones so young. As though the girl heard him, her eyes snapped open suddenly and she shot straight up in her bed, looking into the darkness of the room where the psychiatrist stood.

"Who is there?" she whispered into the shadows of her room. Her voice sounded soft, unsure, and barely used, as though she hadn't talked in years.

"I am Professor Strange. What is your name child?" he asked.

"Name?" the girl asked, looking confused.

"Yes, your name. The thing you are called by other people."

"Mary. Mary Noble. I think," the girl stammered. "It has been so long since I have had to use my name." Strange nodded, before turning to leave and heading for Arkham Mansion and the records room.

It was simple to find files in Arkham, as long as you knew where to look. The Professor quickly found the right file and opened it to discover the picture of a little blonde girl who looked about six but it was unmistakably Mary Noble.

Psychological Profile (by Dr. Jeremiah Arkham)

Name: Mary Iris Noble. Age at internment: six years old. Family: Father – Richard Noble, Mother – Patience Noble, Brother – Justin Noble. Patient suffers from: spells of hallucinations, mental instability, sociopathic tendencies, self-control disorder, and possibly schizophrenia. Warning: Has bitten and/or scratched two doctors to date. Patient Status: (Strange frowned at what came next) deceased.

Patient suffers from a form of mental illness the likes I have never come across. The patient appears to be completely normal and sane upon first glance but a few sessions later I have come to the conclusion that she is anything but. For a girl of merely six she extremely literate and well spoken, capable of reading middle and high school level material with ease, solving basic algebra and geometry problems, as well as picking up on everything from psychics to psychology… she also disturbs me. It is as though she is able to look into the minds of others just by looking into their eyes. She… knows things. Things that only I have known. My special patients I personally attend to… my relationship with Alyce… my fears about my own mental health… the true nature of my uncle… I am beginning to see why her parents donated so generously to the Asylum after incarcerating her within its walls.

Additional Notes

Her 'spells' appear to come irregularly and without much warning.

She is very observant and prefers to bite those who believe she is lying about what she sees.

Very observant and good at discovering secrets, especially those that were always meant to be hidden.

Could possibly aid in the diagnosis and treatment of fellow patients?

**SHE IS TO NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AGAIN.**

Strange frowned. It wasn't adding up. Perhaps her patient interview tapes would help shed some light on her story. Taking the first tape and inserting it into the player, Professor Strange started it.

Doctor Arkham: Patient Interview 1. Patient's name: Mary Iris Noble. Diagnosed with slight sociopathic tendencies, extreme self-control disorder, and possibly undifferentiated schizophrenia. How are you today Mary?

Mary: Why am I here?

Doctor Arkham: You're not well, Miss Noble. This is a place where sick people come to get better. Do you understand?

Mary: Uh-huh. Like a hospital?

Doctor Arkham: Exactly. A hospital for people who are sick in the mind.

Mary: Like you?

Doctor Arkham: Wha– no, Miss Noble, I assure you I am of most sound mind.

Mary: There was once a terrible war between the birds and the beasts. For a long time it was doubtful which would win.

The bat said, "I am not a bird and I am not a beast, so I shall fight on neither side."

At last the beasts seemed to be gaining the victory. The bat flew to them and said, "I am a beast. Look at my body and you will see that I am. I shall fight on your side."

New flocks of birds came to help their relatives, and the battle soon turned against the beasts.

Then the bat skulked over to the other side. "I am a bird," said he. "I can prove it by my wings," and he fought with the birds.

At last the war was over.

After that day, neither Bird nor Beast befriended the bat. Both saw his dishonesty. Both made war upon him. And to this day, he is obliged to slink off and hide in dark places during the day, never showing his face until dusk.

Doctor Arkham: … I beg your pardon?

Mary: Both sides see you for what you really are. Why do you not see it?

Doctor Arkham: I think that will be enough for today. Guards!

_Interesting_, Strange thought. In his many years at the Asylum, he had encountered many different people with many different abilities. But to his knowledge, Arkham Asylum had never held a psychic. At least, until Mary Noble was admitted. Still curious and inquiring, he started the next tape.

Mr. Noble: How is she?

Dr. Arkham: She's… well… I don't actually know.

Mrs. Noble: What do you mean you don't actually know?

Dr. Arkham: You have to understand, Mrs. Noble, her case is truly extraordinary and unique… perhaps even one of a kind.

Mr. Noble: We don't care about how friggin' special she is, we want her fixed!

Dr. Arkham: That's the problem, Mr. Noble… I can't fix her.

Mr. and Mrs. Noble: WHAT!

Dr. Arkham: The thing is, I have somewhat of an understanding of her abilities but because her case is so unique I don't exactly know why she is like this or how to fix her.

Mr. Noble: What do you suggest we do then?

Dr. Arkham: Keep her here for the time being. After a few more months of therapy and perhaps a bit more analysis of her brain, we might be able to fully diagnose and cure her.

Mrs. Noble: _Might_ be able to?

Dr. Arkham: Unless you would rather take her home and have me come visit her there?

Mr. and Mrs. Noble: NO!

Dr. Arkham: …

Mr. and Mrs. Noble: I – I mean… we just, we simply, uh… we're sure she'd be safer here.

_Parents afraid of their own child_, Strange thought. _Not uncommon, especially in this asylum but considering how normal the little girl seemed, there must be more_. He started the tape.

Dr. Arkham: Hello Mary. How are you this evening?

Mary: Can I have my book back?

Dr. Arkham: No, Mary. I'm sorry but I cannot allow that.

Mary: Why not?

Dr. Arkham: It is against the Asylum policy to allow patients access to their belongs before they have been cured and I believe that your little book of nursery rhymes is connected to your mental instability, judging from your tendency to quote and rhyme when you look into people.

Mary: (sighs) But it is so boring in the cell. It is cold and dark too.

Dr. Arkham: This isn't a daycare Miss Noble. Now, why do you look into the minds of other people?

Mary: I do not know… I cannot help it.

Dr. Arkham: You have no control over your abilities?

Mary: I do not… think so.

Dr. Arkham: Well, how about you try looking into the mind of someone purposefully, in an attempt to try and learn to control your mind?

Mary: Ok?

Dr. Arkham: Dr. Quinzel, you may come in.

(Door opens and closes)

Dr. Quinzel: Hello, Miss Noble, I'm Doctor Harleen Quinzel.

Mary: Harley Quinn.

Dr. Quinzel: … Yes, my name is similar to the clown character.

Dr. Arkham: Dr. Quinzel, as I previously mentioned, Miss Noble has a very special… ability that allows her to look into the minds of others and know things. Are you comfortable with her attempting to use her powers to look into you mind?

Dr. Quinzel: Sure, I got nothing to hide.

(Sound of someone sitting down. Pause.)

Mary: You treat the Joker?

Dr. Quinzel: Yes. I do.

Mary: You call him Mr. J.

Dr. Quinzel: Yeah.

Mary: You love him.

Dr. Quinzel: What.

Dr. Arkham: What?

(Dr. Quinzel laughs, though it sounds slightly nervous)

Dr. Quinzel: No. No, Miss Noble, I am not in love with him.

Mary: But you are! And you believe he loves you.

Dr. Quinzel: I'm not… He doesn't… (Dr. Quinzel takes a breath) You're lying.

Mary: I am not.

Dr. Quinzel: Yes you are.

Mary: I am not!

Dr. Quinzel: Yes. You. Are!

Mary: I! Am! NOT!

(The sound of chairs scrapping the floor, Dr. Quinzel screams)

Dr. Quinzel: AH! SHE BIT ME!

Dr. Arkham: Guards! GUARDS!

(Door opens and the sound of someone being dragged out)

Dr. Quinzel: I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE ACTUALLY BIT ME! AND IT HURT!

Dr. Arkham: It'll be fine Dr. Quinzel, she's had her shots. (Pause) But maybe we should get you to the infirmary… just in case.

_Patient does not take kindly to being considered a liar_, Strange noted. He chuckled to himself; had Dr. Arkham taken Miss Noble's word seriously, he could've prevented one of Arkham Asylum's greatest failures. But no, children were among the least heard and believed people in the world. Still chuckling, the Professor started the fourth and final tape.

Mr. Noble: It's been six months. We want progress, that's what we're paying you for.

Dr. Arkham: I already informed you, these things take time, effort, careful study, and a good amount of patience.

Mrs. Noble: Her brother's starting to ask questions. He knows something's up and it won't be long before he breaks down our door trying to find her.

Dr. Arkham: Why not simply tell him the truth?

Mrs. Noble: (laughs coldly) The truth? That we locked up our crazy little brat of a child in the nuthouse and are paying its top doctor to keep her hushed up and shut up? He'd probably break her out the moment he heard.

Dr. Arkham: And we can't have that, now, can we?

Mr. Noble: No, we can't. As respectable citizens of Gotham you can understand that we can't allow for certain… threats to be let out.

Mrs. Noble: Especially ones that could completely ruin our reputations.

Dr. Arkham: So, what exactly are you proposing?

Mr. Noble: Fake her death.

Dr. Arkham: I beg your pardon.

Mrs. Noble: Fake her death. Put on her file that she was killed during a prison riot or something. That gives you all the time in the world to cure her and as long as she's kept quiet, we'll guarantee you have all the resources you need.

Dr. Arkham: Well, I appreciate the offer… after all, my Asylum has been having many security snafus, especially as of late… what with the Batman and all.

Mr. Noble: Of course.

Mrs. Noble: You need the money, Dr. Arkham. All you have to do is keep quiet.

Dr. Arkham: … Very well. You have yourself a deal.

* * *

"Did you listen to the tapes?" Oracle inquired.

"Yeah," the Batman replied.

"I can't believe someone could lock up their own daughter in Arkham Asylum," Oracle admitted.

"I can," the Batman said.

"Of course you can, it's in you nature." Oracle sighed. "But still… she's only a kid."

"Can you track down all information on the Noble family?" the Batman asked.

"Already on it."

"Tell me when you have more on it. I'm going to see if Miss Noble can enlighten us as to her situation," the Batman said, signing off.

* * *

"Do you know why you are here Miss Noble?" Professor Strange inquired. Mary was seated across a table from him, looking around the room as though attempting to memorize it. It occurred to the Professor that this was likely the first time she had been out of her cell in years.

"I am here because I am different and crazy," Mary said.

"What makes you different and crazy?" Strange asked.

"I can see into other people's minds; see what they have seen; feel what they have felt. But I have difficulty not saying what I see. I cannot hold my tongue," Mary explained.

"Well what do you see in me?" Mary looked up at him and into his eyes she paused for a minute, studying him, before she began.

"Your name is Professor Strange. You are obsessed with the Batman. You work for the League of Assassins and for a man called the Demon."

"That is truly remarkable," Strange commented, his mind working at a thousand miles a second. Mary smiled.

"My parents did not think so," she said.

"Do you remember anything about your family, Miss Noble?" Strange asked. Mary looked at him then down at her lap.

"I… I am not sure," Mary stammered.

"Try and remember. It will help." Mary nodded and closed her eyes. She looked deep into her mind, searching for memories of something other than the cold blank cell and its infinite darkness. Then, slowly, but surely, her memories began to resurface. She remembered a man and a woman, always well dressed and smiling, except when they looked at her. She remembered looking at them and feeling as though they emitted disapproval and fear around her like a candle emits heat and light. She remembered other people like them, who always greeted her with smiles but whose smiles quickly turned to scowls and upturned noses when she began to talk. Mary started to curl into herself at these memories; she didn't want to remember those times, she wanted to remember the good times. So she searched, and sure enough she found them. She remembered a boy, older than her, with whom she used to laugh, and jump, and climb, and play. She remembered a time when used to smile, and love, and live. She remembered a time when she was free. "Miss Noble?" a distant accented voice echoed and Mary opened her eyes. She couldn't help but slump slightly in her seat when she remembered where she was. She wasn't with the boy who was nice and funny and played games with her, but with another Doctor who sought to poke into her mind and dissect it like a dead frog. "Miss Noble, what do you remember?" Mary sighed; she might as well cooperate, it wasn't like it would help her at this point.

"My mother and father were afraid of me. They locked me up. They did not want me and my madness," Mary stated. Strange looked at her oddly.

"They said that?"

"They did not have to. I could tell even without looking at them," Mary expressed and Strange nodded.

"What about your brother?" he questioned. At that Mary grinned in a way that made her look much more like a normal girl her age.

"He was nice. The nicest person I have ever known," she smiled. "He was fun. He played with me, made me laugh, and smile. He loved me when no one else did."

"Why do you think he did not come for you?" Strange inquired and Mary's smiled slipped off her face like raindrops.

"My parents lied to him. Because that is what they are: Liars, fakes, frauds," she said, her voice getting a little angrier with each word. "They wanted to keep me away so they locked me up, hid me, made me disappear." Realizing where she was, she looked at the Professor hopefully. "But now I… can go back to my brother and my home… right?" Strange looked her over. A girl with the ability to look into people's minds, who had no one looking for her and was in no way known or important. The professor smiled internally; yes, she could be very useful indeed.

"I'm sorry Miss Noble but I can't allow you go back to him just yet." Mary looked at him, crushed.

"Why not?" Mary asked

"Because I am in need of an assistant to help with researching the patients of the Asylum… and I think you would do perfectly."

"But–"

"I know, I know, you wish to go home to you family. But I promise you. Once I have finished my research, I will allow you to go home to your brother. Understood?" Mary looked like she wanted to protest but just sighed and nodded. "Good."

* * *

"I do not believe he ever intended on following through with his promise," Mary said.

"What makes you think that?" the Batman asked.

"He is – was – a liar, and he used people to get what he wanted," Mary stated. "Besides, he said he would keep me until his research was done, but he has been doing research his whole life. Chances are, if he had lived and Protocol 10 had been completed, I would have only been freed when he died." Mary laughed bitterly at that. "Though I suppose that is true in this case as well."


	2. Arkham Asylum

**A/N: This chapter gave me a good deal of trouble and it's still not perfect but I hope you like it.**

Arkham Asylum

"What did Strange do to you before Arkham City?" the Batman asked.

"Not much truthfully," Mary admitted. "Kept me hidden from the other patients and staff. He said I would be needed more later on, in his plan to 'save Gotham'. There were a few occasions that he let me see other people. But those were usually… unpleasant occasions for me."

* * *

Pain. So much pain. Mary could see it in their eyes. Men, turned into animals by the Professor and his experiments and thrown into cells to rot. They couldn't even speak anymore. All they did was growl and foam and snarl and bite and claw, occasionally reaching through the bars in an attempt to grab that which they could never reach. Their minds had been turned to mush, their souls had been taken from their bodies. Whoever they had been before Strange had gotten to them had died during the experiments. They were simply shells of their former selves. She began to reach through the bars to one lying on the floor, hoping to help him, comfort him, do anything she could to help him with the pain, but her arm was stopped by a black gloved hand grabbing her wrist.

"I would not suggest that Miss Noble," Professor Strange warned Mary. Mary looked up at him sadly before turning back to the poor people in the cells.

"Why would you do this to them?" Mary asked, not taking her eyes off of the eyes brimming with pain.

"Sacrifices must be made in the pursuit of a better world, Miss Noble," the Professor stated. Mary shook her head.

"But you have not given a thing. You have forced others to sacrifice for you," Mary said and the Professor's face hardened at that.

"Take care how you speak Miss Noble. Remember, I am the only one who knows you're here," the Professor reminded her. Mary frowned.

"What about the people who gave me food and other necessities during my time here?" The Professor smiled grimly.

"Oh they've been… taken care of." Mary looked at his eyes, and turned away before she sighed.

"You did not have to 'take care of them,'" Mary protested. "They were paid handsomely by my parents to keep their mouths shut." The Professor shrugged.

"Either way."

* * *

"Were you at the Asylum–"

"When you were there? The night the Joker broke out?" Mary cut the Batman off. She nodded. "Yes. I was."

"Where were you during that?" the Batman asked. Mary smiled and laughed a bit.

"Well that is all a _very_ long story."

* * *

Mary had managed to sneak away from her room and was currently wandering through the halls of the asylum. The Professor wouldn't be searching for her, he was too busy observing the Joker's arrival… and Batman escorting him here of course. Mary rolled her eyes; she only looked into Professor Strange's eyes on occasion, preferring not to see the tortures he'd put other patients through, but when she did, the Batman filled every thought that wasn't about his patients, his experiments, and his plans. She opened a map of the Asylum that she'd managed to smuggle from Professor Strange's office and started to look over all possible exits and entrances. If she was careful and very, very lucky, maybe, just maybe, she could escape. But her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of sirens and alarms. She looked around. What in the world?

* * *

"The Joker's taken over the Asylum!" shouted one Doctor and he and the others began to barricade the room.

"What? How is that possible?" Strange asked.

"Don't know sir, but he did," the man responded. Strange frowned and immediately left the room and headed toward Mary's cell. He unlocked the door and threw it open.

"Mary, come with me! We need to go!" he barked at the lump on the bed. It didn't budge. The Professor sighed in exasperation and walked over to the bed. "Mary?" He pulled away the blankets to discover there was nothing but pillows and sheets underneath. Strange grit his teeth. "That little–"

* * *

Mary quietly walked through the halls of Arkham Asylum, trying to find out what was going on. Maybe I should find a guard, she though. They might know. She stepped out of the Asylum and into the outside world. Mary gazed around in wonder. Towering buildings on the mainland scraped the night sky, the moon illuminating the calm waters of the Gotham River, and the Batsignal shinning high above the city, a constant symbol of hope to the innocent, and fear to the guilty.

"Hey! What're you doing out here?" shouted a rough voice and Mary turned to find three Arkham security guards heading toward her. Mary put her hands up as a precaution.

"Please do not shoot!"

"We're not going to shoot you kid, why would we shoot a hostage?" one guard asked.

"Actually I–" Mary began, but stopped when she realized it would probably be best not to correct them. If they knew she was an inmate… well, she doubted they would be quite so kind to her.

"Can you call this in Jack?" one guard inquired. Jack shook his head.

"Radio's down."

"Ah well. Come on kid, we'll get you to safety," one of the guards said and Mary didn't argue. These men could help her stay safe and at the moment, that was all that mattered to her. The three guards began to escort Mary away, but after a while of walking, there came a sound like shouting in the distance.

"What was that?" The shouting was getting louder and closer. The guars raised their guns in apprehension.

"Kid, go and hide," one guard ordered.

"Why?" Mary inquired, unsure as to why they were so worried.

"Just a precaution. Now go and don't come out until we tell you to." Mary nodded reluctantly and went to go hide in some bushes further up the hill. From a distance, she could see strong men who were wearing face paint or clown masks approach the guards and after a bit of shouting the guards trained their guns on the goons. However, they failed to notice the thugs approaching from behind and before Mary could shout out and warn them, shots rang out and the guards dropped to the ground. Mary stumbled back, tripping and falling on her back, but she continued to scoot away and eventually got up and started sprinting away like the cartoon roadrunner she used to watch on the television on Saturday mornings. After running so fast and far she felt like she was going to cough up her lungs, she stopped, leaned against a wall, slid down to the ground, and started sobbing into her hands. They'd killed them. Those thugs had just killed those guards without any hesitation or remorse. She'd witnessed murders before, but those had all been from other people's perspectives. But seeing it first hand was terrible.

"I have to get out of here," Mary murmured to herself once she'd gotten her breathing under control. "I have to." Mary got up and began to walk away.

Suddenly, Mary was thrown into a wall and held there. Mary struggled, trying to free herself, but stopped when she looked right into the eyes of Victor Zsasz.

"Hello child," Zsasz greeted and Mary closed her eyes and began to struggle as images of over a hundred different corpses started to streak across her mind, but her fighting ceased when Zsasz held the cool metal of his blade against the warm flesh of her throat. Zsasz surveyed Mary, his curiosity apparent. "It has been very long since I have liberated such a young zombie," Zsasz realized. He smiled. "I should remedy that. It is better to give them the gift before they have experienced the cruelties of this world."

"Victor Zsasz. You… liberate people," Mary chocked out in an attempt to stall her attacker and hopefully delay her demise. "Free them from the boredoms of ordinary life." Zsasz smiled in glee at having someone who understood his work.

"Yes. I do," he nodded, and the pressure his knife had on Mary's neck lessened.

"You have liberated many people. Over a hundred." Mary swallowed in apprehension. "Can you… tell me about them?" Zsasz grinned and moved the knife to his left hand, the pressure on Mary's neck decreasing drastically, before he used his right hand to gesture toward a tally mark scar on his left shoulder.

"This one was a man, Steven Anderson, a drunk in his forties," Zsasz began. An image of an overweight red-faced man's corpse in bloodstained clothes, positioned to be sitting on a bar stool, appeared in Mary's mind. She quickly shifted her gaze from Zsasz's eyes to his forehead, giving the impression that she was still looking at his eyes while avoiding the terrible scenes of murder and mutilation. "His life was simply one tragedy after another. His father died when he was a boy, and his mother killed herself when he was twenty. His wife left him after he had an affair and after she left he did nothing but work day to day at the local grocery store and drink on all the time he got off. He was practically begging for my gift and even if I had not given it to him, he would have likely drank himself to death." Mary nodded at him to continue, her hand moving across the wall, looking for something, anything that could help her escape this madman. His finger trailed down to his right bicep.

"This one right here was an angry young man, Zachary Burns, whose family was as broken as they come. He left school when he was sixteen and made his living pickpocketing and cage fighting." Mary almost gasped when her hand came across a loose brick in the wall. Maybe, if she could just get it free… "He spent every Saturday at the Iceberg Lounge, fighting in Penguin's little underground fighting ring. And every Sunday he gave the money he won to a boy's home he spent a good amount of time in as a child. He fought against receiving my gift but once I dragged my blade across his throat, he accepted the gift." Mary nodded at him to continue, still attempting to jostle the brick free as silently as possible. Zsasz hand moved to a tally mark directly over his heart.

"This one here was a little black girl, eight years old. Her mother was a tired woman, who worked shifts as a waitress, bar tender, and occasionally a stripper in order to make ends meet. The little girl always wore her black hair in pigtails and loved to skip and play hopscotch on her way home from school." The little breath Mary had managed to keep in her lungs quickly left. That had been one of her favorite things to do when she was young. "The Batman immediately apprehended me after I saved her but it was worth it, to see such beautiful red blood spill over soft, unmarked skin, is glorious in itself." Zsasz looked Mary over again, like an artist judging a painting. "But I have a feeling seeing your crimson blood would be just as wonderful." Mary quickly threw all caution into the wind and, in one quick pull, jerked the brick from the wall and bludgeoned Zsasz with it, knocking him to the ground. Once again, Mary shot off like a bullet, knowing that just about anywhere would be better than with Zsasz. She raced across the grounds of Arkham Asylum until she almost collapsed from absolute exhaustion.

_Ok,_ Mary thought to herself, once she'd caught her breath. _I need a place to hide until things calm down and I can escape_. Mary took out her map again and started to survey the Asylum. _The gardens will likely be empty_, Mary realized. She looked around where she was currently. _Now if I could just find out where I am_. She looked at the moon that shone brightly over the waters of the Gotham River. _Ok, if the moon rises in the east and I need to go west,_ Mary thought out, pointing at the moon, _then I go that way, _she finished, pointing opposite the moon. She then folded up her map and began the trek toward the gardens, hiding behind bushes every so often t avoid being spotted by passing thugs. After what felt like hours, Mary finally reached the doors to the gardens. Smiling to herself, she opened them and entered the greenhouse. Entering the enormous building, Mary spun around absorb to the glorious garden and started to wander through the paths, being careful to only step on the dirt or on the pathway stones and not on the plants. The gardeners probably made sure to keep it nice for Poison Ivy's sake; she'd murder them if they mistreated the plants in anyway. Mary sat down on a bench and started to look over her maps of the Asylum and Gotham City. She could escape and would escape if it was the last thing she ever did. Mary thoughts were interrupted a good few hours later by the sound of someone opening the door to the gardens. Mary quickly gathered her things and hid deep in the plants.

"Who's there?" a seductive voice called out. Mary continued to hide behind the brush, not wanting to be spotted. However, she did not count on Ivy's plant finding her, tying her up, and taking her to Poison Ivy. "Well, what do we have here?" Ivy wondered. She began to circle Mary, inspecting her. "You seem awfully young for a patient of Arkham Asylum."

"Please do not hurt me. I was just hiding," Mary pleaded. "I did not even hurt any of the plants, I promise."

"We'll see about that," Ivy said. She turned to her plants and appeared to be talking to them. After a while she smiled and released Mary with a wave of her hand. "It looks as though not all meat-sacks are as careless as others. What's you name my dear?"

"Mary. Mary Noble. Is it alright if I stay here until things calm down and I can escape?" Mary inquired.

"Of course, a little flower like yourself is always welcome in my gardens." Mary grinned and started to look over her maps again, murmuring, "Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater  
Had a wife and couldn't keep her  
He put her in a pumpkin shell  
And there he kept her very well." Ivy looked at Mary.

"Pardon?"

"You cannot have children so you treat plants like your children. Also, a man who you loved experimented on you and made you into this, hence your distrust in men," Mary explained without looking up from her maps. Ivy gaped slightly.

"How did you know that?" she breathed, her plants moving in a distressed manner. Mary looked at Ivy and the plants and soon realized her mistake.

"I am sorry. I have special powers too… However, I have more trouble controlling mine," Mary admitted. Ivy calmed down.

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it eventually," she assured Mary. Mary smiled and then yawned.

"I am going to sleep now. Can you wake me when things calm down a little?" Mary requested. Ivy grinned.

"Of course. Goodnight night my dear." Mary smiled sleepily and made herself comfortable on a bench, Ivy's plants hiding her from view.

* * *

Mary woke up a little while later to find Ivy's plants had grown exponentially.

"Hello my little darling. How was your sleep?" Ivy asked.

"It was nice. What did I miss?" Mary inquired, sitting up on the bench and looking at the gargantuan growth.

"Quite a bit. The Joker gave me some TITAN, which has helped my babies grow, and the Batman's gone looking for spores that will stop the TITAN transformation." Mary's eyes widened.

"Batman was here!" she exclaimed.

"Yes," Ivy nodded.

"No!" Mary groaned, holding her head in her hands. "He could have helped me escape."

"Oh there will be plenty of time for that later on," Ivy assured her.

"Where is he?" Mary questioned, ignoring Ivy's comment, and starting to get up. "I need to find him."

"He's in Killer Croc's sewers. Going down there is suicide," Ivy stated.

"Not for him. I will just go to the elevator and wait for him to come up," Mary replied.

"Please be careful. I'd hate to see such a sweet young face in the obituary column of the Gotham Times."

"I will Miss Ivy. I promise." Mary then headed back to the Asylum in search of a way inside. Making her way around the Asylum, she looked up to see a balcony with a door that led inside.

_Now, how do I get up there?_ Mary wondered. She started to back up, trying to find a way up there but she found none, until she suddenly ran into something. She turned around, expecting it to be a tree or something, but instead found herself staring into the face of the person she wanted to see the least.

"Here you are," Professor Strange grit out, trying to control his fury. He'd found her.

* * *

"What were you thinking child?" Strange lectured, pacing back and forth in front of a seated Mary as she rubbed the back of her head, which was still sore from the Professor having pulled her all the way back to the Asylum security room by her hair.

"I was thinking that I wanted to be free and that you would be so busy watching the Batman that you would not realize that I was gone until I was far away from your grasp," Mary stated still rubbing the back of her head. The Professor looked at her and walked over to Mary, kneeling in front of her.

"That is the problem with your little plan," Strange said, grabbing Mary's chin and forcing her to look into his eyes. "There is no where you can go where you will not still be in my grasp." Mary gazed fearfully into his eyes, flashes of tortures and murders he'd committed appearing in her mind, until he released her and she looked down into her lap.

"Yes sir," she replied demurely and Strange nodded satisfied. He looked at one of the security monitors and sighed, agitated.

"If it were not for the fact that the Batman is here and I need your insight, I would send you to solitary confinement for the next two weeks," Strange informed her.

"You are still going to send me to solitary confinement the moment the Batman is gone," Mary pointed out. Strange smiled.

"Glad to know we understand each other." A loud boom echoed from the speakers and the Professor turned to see bursts of light and color fill the air above the Asylum.

"Fireworks," Mary smiled, leaning closer to the screens, drinking up the sight of a beautiful thing she had not seen in years. Strange examined the display.

"It looks as though the Joker's festivities have begun. Which means the Batman will be there soon," he noted and Mary nodded. She continued to look at the screens, smiling at the bright and cheery colors. Professor Strange turned one of the monitors to a news station and began to survey the asylum.

"Arkham Asylum is still under lockdown, its staff at the mercy of the rampaging inmates. Just ten minutes ago, we received this taped message," a news reporter's voice said.

"Greetings Gotham! Joker here!" came the voice of the Joker. "Arkham is mine! Soon, I'll release madness untold onto the streets of Gotham. But first direct your eyes to the rooftops and witness the final destruction of your dear Dark Knight!"

"We've been circling the tower since – wait there! Joker is making his move!" the reporter cried and the camera zoomed in on the roof. A horrible bleach white hand with incredibly long nails shot up out of the roof, soon followed by a just as gruesome body, with a Glasgow grin and a green Mohawk, and Batman clutched in the monster's other hand.

"Oh boy," Mary muttered as she laid eyes upon a TITAN transformed Joker.

"Showtime Batman. Let's give the rubes something to talk about. Two freaks in a fight to the death. And for one night only, please welcome our special guest referee," the Joker introduced, pointing to an older man with grey hair sitting in a chair high suspended high above the roof. "So… come on, change! Get crazy! It's the only way to beat me! You know you want to," the Joker grinned.

"Never!" the Batman shouted and took a injector and gave himself a shot of some sort of green substance.

"You wasted the antidote on yourself?" the Joker laughed, throwing Batman across the roof and into a wall, Mary wincing when the Batman hit. "Now that's funny! Hysterical!" The Joker ran over and attempted to stomp on the Batman, who rolled away at the last second. "But you still spoiled my fun and for that I'm going to paint Arkham with your blood." The Joker began slicing his lengthy nails like blades, the Batman dodging. "It won't kill you to smile, Bats!" the Joker taunted. As the Batman continued to dodge the Joker's attacks, the news helicopters caught his eye. "Excuse me Bats!" the Joker apologized, jumping high onto the roof and flexing his grotesque muscles for the cameras. The Batman took the opportunity to use his Batclaw to pull the Joker down. The Joker fell back and his nails were caught in the wood of the roof when he landed, pinning him down momentarily. The Batman then used the Joker's momentary immobility to beat him down.

"He is attempting to use the Joker's slight narcissistic tendencies to defeat him," Mary smiled. "He is clever. Very clever."

"Yes he is. But he won't be clever enough to stop us," the Professor commented. "But what do you see Mary? Can you see into his mind?" Mary tried to look into the Batman's eyes and mind but for once, there was nothing.

"My abilities do not work on images," Mary concluded. "They only work when I can see the subject in person." Strange cursed.

"Of course it wouldn't be that easy would it? Well, there's always plan B." A great boom issued from the speakers and Mary and the Professor to see that the Joker had fallen through the roof. The camera zoomed in to show the Joker being electrocuted by wires under the roof and after a while, the Joker made his way back up to the surface.

"I can take it. I can take anything you throw at me Bats! You can't beat me! I'm actually going to win," the Joker shouted as the Batman put some sort of gel on his hand. "Ready for the next round?"

"Always," the Batman said.

"What?" the Joker yelled.

"I'll never let you win." With that he brought his fist up to the Joker's massive jaw and blasted him backward. The Batman stumbled back, holding his arm in pain, but remained standing, while the Joker was not. The Professor looked at what remained of the Asylum and smiled.

"I have a feeling that this incident will play out perfectly for our plans Mary," Strange stated sinisterly.


	3. Road to Arkham City

Road to Arkham City

"Mary get up," Strange ordered.

"No," Mary moaned, not moving from her bed.

"Get up right now, or I swear I will use a stun stick to get you up," Strange threatened. Mary sighed and started to move away her blanket.

"Alright, alright." It had been many months since the Arkham Asylum incident and things hadn't changed terribly much for Mary. She still hadn't been outside since the Asylum incident (for which she had spent four weeks in solitary confinement for her escape attempt), she was still living in her cell, and she was still imprisoned. The only thing that had changed was Professor Strange's treatment of her. He'd been letting her out of her cell occasionally, had been giving her certain patients files to read and study, and had even given her clothes other than her prisoners' uniform: a pair of black pants and a black long sleeved button up dress, both cotton and probably very cheap, but both well and truly hers. A small part of her felt she should be grateful for his somewhat kinder attitude toward her, while another, larger portion of her said he was trying to Stockholm Syndrome her into becoming his lackey.

"What is going on Professor?" Mary asked once she'd brushed her hair and tied it back with a black ribbon.

"Transfer to Arkham City," Professor Strange explained. He quickly opened her cell door, Mary following at his heels. They stopped in the main lobby and Mary sat on a bench attempting to keep herself entertained while the Professor attended to last minute business. A while later, Strange approached Mary, his hands behind his back. "I believe this may help you in you studies," he stated, handing her something. Mary's face lit up upon realizing what it was.

"My book!" she squealed, reaching for it. He pulled it away at the last moment and gave her an expecting look. She sighed and murmured, "Thank you Professor." He smiled and handed the book to her and she wasted no time smelling it, running her hand over its hardcover, before she opened it and started to pour through its pages with glee.

"What is it about that book that intrigues you so much child?" Strange inquired.

"It's my favorite book," Mary stated, not looking up from her book. "It is a book full of fairy tales, fables, and nursery rhymes, and it is from this book that I quote the nursery rhymes that I use to describe people. Plus, it was a gift from my brother and is the only thing I have of his."

"And the Doctors at the Asylum did not want you to have this because–"

"They believed allowing me access to this book would encourage my use of my abilities," Mary cut him off. "And I assume you giving me my book means that you hope to do the opposite."

"Glad to see you understand Mary. But," the Professor said, covering Mary's book and forcing her to look at him. "I would like to explain my point of view: you are not mentally unstable. Your abilities simply make you volatile and difficult. However, by encouraging use of these abilities and helping you to use and discipline the use of them will make you much more stable." Mary looked at him and nodded. Professor Strange smiled and removed his hand from Mary's book, which she immediately turned back to. There she stayed for a good while until the Professor deemed everyone ready.

"Come along Mary," Strange said and Mary got up and into the awaiting black car with tinted windows, nose still buried in her book. Strange got in after her, the doors locking after him, and the car started. Mary finally took the time to look up from her book when she realized where she was.

"We are… leaving the Asylum?" she inquired.

"Yes," the Professor replied and Mary nodded slowly in understanding before she brought her book back up to her face in an attempt to hide her smile at finally leaving that dreadful place. The car quickly navigated the dark and rocky roads of Arkham Island and made its way into the city streets, making Mary put down her book.

"Wow," Mary whispered, gazing at the surrounding skyscrapers, bright streetlights, bustling shops, and shiny cars and trucks that made up downtown Gotham City. Strange smiled.

"It is something, isn't it?" Mary nodded in reply not taking her eyes off of the city. They eventually drove up to a towering walled enclosure that reminded Mary of the Dark Castle in her book and couldn't help but feel her heart stop as they crossed the bridge and entered. The door closed behind them, the car stopped, its doors unlocked and Mary got out, looking back at the closed door with a disappointed expression.

"You will help me with psychological analysis of the inmates of Arkham City whenever I require it and you will join me for meals. All other times you will be confined to you room or, if you are on good behavior, allowed to certain rooms and areas under the supervision of the TYGER guards," Strange stated, starting to walk away.

"What areas am I allowed to visit while on good behavior?" Mary asked, following him.

"The observation deck, the Security Control Center, the Tower Foundations, and the library." Mary froze.

"The Library?" Mary repeated, unsure that she'd heard him correctly. She moved forward tentatively. "Am I on good behavior now?" she asked carefully. The Professor sighed.

"Very well. I'll leave you to the TYGER guards."

"Thank you sir," Mary said and walked over to a TYGER guard. "I would like to go to the Library." The guard nodded and began to escort Mary to the Library. After wandering through the halls of the facilities, the guard opened a door, let Mary in, and locked the door behind her, no doubt keeping guard outside. Mary looked at the room she was currently in and gasped. She spun around, gaping, unsure whether she was dreaming or not. Books. So many books. More than she'd ever seen in her entire life. Carefully placing her own book down in an old fashioned cushioned chair, she raced off to see all the books. They weren't fictional books like the ones she'd read when she was younger, but nonfiction books about history, psychology, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, philosophy, business, politics, and so much more. In other words, books on things adults did in the real world. Shrugging to herself, Mary opened a book and started to read. For hours and hours, she poured through volume after volume, storing all the information in her mind for potential use later. Philosophy made her head hurt, and she hesitated before picking up the psychology books, but she read everything she could get her hands on, knowing that the more knowledge she obtained, the more prepared she'd be for whatever came her way. Several hours later, a knock interrupted her studies.

"Miss Noble, Professor Strange wants me to collect you," a TYGER guard called and Mary sighed, closed the book she was reading with a snap, and got up, taking her own book with her. The guard then led her up to the Security Control Center, where the Professor sat at a table, already eating the chicken set out. Mary sat down and put her napkin on her lap like the Professor had taught her, and carefully served herself and began eating.

"Did you enjoy the Library Mary?" the Professor inquired. Mary nodded.

"I did indeed sir. I hope that I will be allowed to use it again."

"As long as you behave." Mary nodded and the two finished the meal in silence. Once the dishes had been cleared, Mary elected to stay in the Security Control room to get used to her surroundings. As she walked toward the window, a ray of bright light hit her face, making her flinch and back away. She looked back to see something shinning through the clouds, high in the sky.

"What is that?" Mary asked the Professor.

"What's what?" he inquired, not looking up from his files.

"That?" Mary said, pointing to the bright shiny thing in the sky. The Professor glanced up at where she was pointing, sighed agitatedly, and replied with, "It's the sun."

"The Sun?" Mary murmured.

"Yes." Mary looked at it and swallowed.

"Can I… go outside?"

"Very well. Just don't bother me and don't fall over the edge." Mary nodded and wandered out onto the balcony, and into the sunlight. She folded her arms and placed them on the railing, turning her face up toward the sky and closing her eyes as she absorbed the sunlight. _So this was what the sun feels like_, she thought. _It's so warm… and bright… I forgot that it was possible to feel like this. _She slowly opened her eyes and started to take in the view of the city. Wayne Tower pierced the smog in the distance along with many other buildings that towered. Hundreds of cars sped across the roads below, reminding Mary of ants she used to watch on the sidewalk when she was free. She turned to look over Arkham City, the helicopters keeping close watch over the inmates below. _The Professor probably feels like God, sitting so high above the normal people, thinking he's better than all of them_, Mary noted. She looked to the coast and a strip of land in the distance caught her eye.

"Is that Arkham Island over there?" she asked Professor Strange, leaning a little farther over the edge.

"Yes," Strange answered back shortly and Mary felt like hitting her head against the rail. All those years in that accursed prison and when she finally left… she could still see it from her new living space.

"Come along Miss Noble. We have much work to do," Strange ordered. Mary took one more look at the view from Wonder Tower, before she sighed and turned her back on the sight of the outside world and made her way back into her gilded cage.


	4. Mary's Adventures in Wonderland

Mary's Adventures in Wonderland

Her first session with a patient. Mary's hand were nervously fidgeting and dancing over each other in her lap as she sat outside the room, waiting for the Professor to send her in. Who would it be? Probably one of the more unstable patients; they tended to be the ones that especially caught the Professor's attention. But who? Mary's thoughts were interrupted by the Professor opening the door.

"Come in Mary. He's ready for you." Mary nodded and walked inside, to see the person seated leap to their feet.

"Alice?" he asked and Mary looked him over with wide eyes. He was wearing an oversized patchwork long-coat and the largest hat she'd ever seen. In the hat band was a card that read "In the style 10/6" and underneath the coat was a white shirt, black bowtie, black pants, and boots. Overall he looked distinctly unhinged. But the man didn't seem to care because he was looking over Mary with absolute happiness. "Oh it is you Alice, I knew I'd find you!" the man cried trying to run toward her but was stopped by two TYGER guards grabbing his arms.

"Back Jervis. She is not your Alice. I already gave you Alice," Strange reasoned, the TYGER guards pulling the man back into his seat.

"Your Alice was a fake. This Alice is real," the man muttered, crossing his arms and frowning like a pouting child.

"Well you can't have her, this one is mine. Now, Miss Noble, what do you see in Mr. Tetch?" Strange asked. Mary nodded at the TYGER guards who let the man in the hat go as Mary moved toward him, surveying and scanning him over.

"A land filled with wonder: Rabbits in waistcoats, blue caterpillars, talking dodo birds, playing card people. You are the Mad Hatter," Mary said, smiling ever so slightly at the world she saw in the patient's mind. Talking flowers, cakes that made you grow, tonic that made you shrink, cats that smiled; it was all truly wonderful. The Mad Hatter grinned.

"She remembers!" he exclaimed, trying to move toward her again, only to be pushed right back in his seat.

"She cannot remember that which has never been, Tetch, now hush," Strange barked. He turned back to Mary. "Continue." Mary nodded and looked into his eyes again.

"And as in uffish thought he stood,  
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,  
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,  
And burbled as it came!" Mary quoted, those these words were not from her book but rather from the man's mind. The Hatter's eyes gleamed and he leaned toward her slightly.

"One, two! One, two! and through and through," he added.

"The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!" Mary recited.

"He left it dead."

"And with its head."

"He went galumphing back," the duo chanted together smiling broadly.

"See it is my Alice!" the Hatter cried, jumping up, grabbing her wrists, and spinning her around, causing Mary to laugh with glee. The Professor and his TYGER guards quickly pulled the two apart.

"No. She is not your Alice, she is mine," Strange told the Hatter. Before the Hatter or Mary could protest, Professor Strange said, "I think you've both had enough of Wonderland for today. Guards escort him out."

"I'll see you again soon Alice!" the Hatter promised as the guards dragged him from the room. Mary smiled, but it soon vanished when the Professor grabbed her roughly by the arms.

"You are never going to see that man again, understood?" Mary's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Why? He is nice," she said.

"At first he may appear so but he kills young women who remind him of the girl from Alice in Wonderland, using chemicals and hats or masks to control them before he does so," the Professor explained.

"Actually, the story's called Alice's _Adventures_ in Wonderland." Strange shot her a pointed glare before he moved toward his desk and began filing through some of his folders. Mary thought about what the Professor had just told her and realized something. "Wait, if you knew that he would want to kill me why did you let him meet me?"

"I wanted to know if he could be cured. You looked into his mind you should be able to tell," the Professor stated. Mary nodded and when Strange looked at her expectantly, she sighed and began her analysis.

"Well, the fact that he does not remember his crimes may cause some difficulty. I did not see any trace of malice or malevolence in his mind, only 'Wonderland'. He has accepted 'Wonderland' as his reality rather than face the real world and his actions. If he could come to terms with the fact that Wonderland is not real and accepted the consequences of his crimes then I believe he could be cured." The Professor nodded.

"Good. That'll be all." With that, he waved his hand and Mary was escorted out.

* * *

"Professor Strange has ordered me to escort you to him," a TYGER guard told Mary a few days after her encounter with the Hatter. She was sitting in the Library and passing the time reading, as she usually did when the Professor did not need her. Sighing, she closed the neurology book she'd been looking through and got up out of her chair.

"I am coming," she said. The guard nodded and began to lead the way through the halls of the facility. As they made their way through the halls and into the Arkham City Processing Center, Mary began to notice that there was something off about this guard, mostly because the Professor always wanted her to be brought to either his office or the Security Control Center, never the Processing Center. Her senses suddenly went onto overdrive when the guard began to open the doors.

"We are going into the city?" she inquired, getting ready to run if need be.

"Yes," the guard answered.

"But the Professor does not want me going out into the city," Mary said, beginning to back away. The guard turned to her. "You are not working for the Professor," she said. When the guard started to walk toward her, Mary turned and ran, only to run into another TYGER guard, who stabbed something into her neck, that cause Mary's world to go dark.

* * *

Ticking. That was the first thing Mary could make out. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, goes the clock. Mary took a deep breath and began to open her eyes slowly. The second thing she realized was that she was not wearing her black dress and pants. Instead, she was wearing an old-fashioned light blue dress with a pinafore with white tights and black shoes. Once Mary had gotten over her odd wardrobe that fit strangely well, she took in her surroundings. Many men dressed in prisoners' uniforms and rabbit masks were seated at the table that she was at the head of, with teapots, cups, cupcakes, a book, and a few metronomes all laid out on the checkered tablecloth. Mary furrowed her brow in confusion. It was obvious that the fake TYGER guard had brought her here but where exactly was here?

"Oh, it is so wonderful to see you again Alice!" a voice cried and Mary looked down the table to see a short man in an oversized patchwork long-coat and the largest hat she'd ever seen.

"Mister Hatter?" Mary asked, her heart beat picking up in apprehension as she started to realize what was going on.  
"Oh you remember me! I'm so glad!" the Hatter exclaimed.

"What is happening? Where am I?" Mary inquired, turning around in her seat as she got a better lock at the room. It was very old-fashioned looking and reminded Mary of the interior of the Wonder Tower. Books littered the floor and paintings and bookshelves covered the walls. If it hadn't been for the goons in the rabbit masks and the fact that she'd been brought here by a serial killer, Mary would've liked this place. The Hatter responded by climbing onto the table and walking toward her.

"Why you're in Wonderland Alice!" the Hatter said, spreading his arms out wide, and Mary smiled nervously, not wanting to give away the fact that she knew who exactly he was now. The Mad Hatter jumped down from the table and kneeled next to her, taking her hands in his own. "That nasty bandersnatch tried to keep you away from me. But we will never be separated again I promise. Now come, it's tea time and I wouldn't want our drinks to get cold," he said, sitting in the chair next to Mary's. Mary nodded and the Hatter poured her a cup. Mary was about to take a sip when she remembered how the Mad Hatter was famous for his chemicals. Not wanting to upset the Hatter, she pretended to take a sip, which made the Hatter grin broadly. After taking a few more pretend sips, Mary put down her cup and looked at the Hatter.

"What do you do with the fake Alices?" she inquired. The Hatter paled and hastily put down his cup.

"Oh th-that really doesn't matter now Alice," the Hatter stuttered. "All that matters is that you're here now."

"But Mister Hatter, I really am curious as to what happened to them," Mary maintained.

"Well, let's just that the Queen of Hearts takes care of them," the Mad Hatter smiled. Mary gulped and pushed her chair away from the table.

"Mister Hatter I must be going. Tea time is over and I have an appointment with the White Rabbit and you know how he detests tardiness," Mary said, moving to get up, but was stopped by the Hatter grabbed her arm.

"But tea time's all the time Alice… and you are mine now," the Mad Hatter, looking much more unhinged than Mary had ever seen him. "Not the White Rabbit's, not the Cheshire Cat's, or anyone else's. You're _mine_. Now and forever." The next thing Mary knew, she was bolting for the door, trying to pull it open but failing due to the lock. Mary was pulled away by two of the Hatter's rabbit thugs. "NO!" Mary shouted, kicking and screaming with all her might. The rabbits suddenly pushed her to the ground but before she could get up the Hatter was on top of her, holding her arms down. "Get off, get off, please get off of me!" she screamed trying.

"Oh Alice, why do you fight me?" the Hatter asked, trying to hold her down.

"I am not Alice! Alice is not real!"

"No. No, she is real, you are Alice," the Hatter repeated.

"No. I am not Alice."

"LIAR! You nasty little liar! You are Alice!" the Mad Hatter shouted.

"I. Am. Not. A. LIAR!" Mary shouted, finally managing to push him off of her. She immediately jumped to her feet and slid over the table, causing the tablecloth to be pulled off and the teapots, cups, and other accessories to tumble to the floor.

"You… you're a fake," the Hatter faltered. Mary paused. She was about to try and comfort him, to try and make him understand, when he suddenly exploded. "YOU LIED TO ME! YOU LIED! YOU WICKED LITTLE LIAR!" The Hatter screamed, chasing Mary around the table. "And do you know what we do to liars?" he asked, grabbing something from under the table causing Mary to pale.

"No."

"Yes, not-Alice. Off with your head!" he yelled, a knife in hand. Mary tried to run, but the rabbit men stopped her and pushed her into a corner. The Mad Hatter, towering over her with a manic grin on his face, raised the knife but was interrupted by the sound of something slamming against the door. Once, twice, and one the third time the door burst open and several TYGER guards burst into the room.

"Tetch, put down the knife! Now!" Mary used the Mad Hatter's temporary distraction to push him away from her. The TYGER guards quickly disarmed him and put him in handcuffs.

"No! NO! Stop! Oh, you dreadful playing cards!" he shouted as he was dragged out.

"All clear Professor Strange. She's safe," the leader said into his communicator. The Professor quickly made his way over to Mary, grabbing her roughly when he reached her.

"Mary! What on earth were you thinking?" Strange shouted at her.

"It was not my fault. He used a TYGER guard to get me! I tried to run away," Mary pointed out. The Professor shook his head, sighed, pushed her away, and rubbed his forehead.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to give you a backup plan in the event of an incident like this happening again," Strange muttered to himself, looking over the broken tea cups scattered all over the floor. Mary looked at him.

"You are planning on putting me in the same room with absolute psychopaths again," Mary stated, disbelieving. The Professor did not answer, apparently too busy talking with the Captain of the TYGER guards to really even notice her incredulity. She sighed angrily. _Which was better: the eternal darkness and boredom of living in her cell forever, or living as Strange's pet and getting attacked for it?_ Mary considered. She looked around the room she'd almost been killed in. She'd wait a little while, then she'd decide what she'd prefer.


	5. Pop goes the Weasel

**A/N: I'm probably going to have to bump up the rating to M for the psychological torture in this chapter but I hope you enjoy it.**

Pop goes the Weasel

"Wrong!" Professor Strange shouted, grabbing Mary's punch and flipping her onto the mat.

"OW!" Mary cried. Over the past few weeks the Professor had been training Mary to fight. Most of the first weeks were just building up her strength and agility, seeing as how she'd been in a cell for five years, but now they were moving onto basic attacks and counters. And seeing as how Mary was spending most of this session on the floor, it wasn't going very well.

"Try again," Strange snapped.

"Do I have to?" Mary moaned, refusing to get up.

"If you want to eat tonight then yes you do." Mary sighed in defeat.

"Fine." She got back up and into position. Looking over the Professor's stance, she aimed a kick at his head.

"Wrong again," the Professor said, catching her kick and flipping her onto her back yet again. Mary groaned and glared up at Strange from her position on the floor.

"You enjoy watching me struggle. It makes you feel powerful," Mary accused. The Professor was about to reply when he stopped.

"I suppose you'd know that I'm lying if I said no."

"Yep," Mary confirmed and got up yet again, her back getting very sore.

* * *

Another session, Mary thought to herself as she sat in the chair outside the Professor's office. Another psychopath that the Professor wanted her to see, and yet another mind she'd have to look into. Mary sighed. Hopefully this one wouldn't try to kill her. Mary's thoughts were interrupted by the door opening.

"Come in," Strange ordered briskly and Mary got up and walked in… to find a clown in a purple suit waiting.

"Well lookie here! You got yourself a little one. Just like a certain brooding bat, eh, Strange?" the Joker laughed, breaking off into coughs.

"That's enough Joker. This is my assistant, Miss Noble. Miss Noble, this is the Joker." Mary took one look at the ridiculous looking man with chalky white skin, red lips, and green hair in the purple suit and spats, and almost burst out laughing… until she looked into his eyes.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mary screamed, clutching her head in her hands and backing herself against the wall as far away as she could get from the monster of a man in front of her. "NO! NO! NO! PLEASE DO NOT MAKE ME LOOK INTO HIM AND HIS EYES! PLEASE!" She screamed as flashes of terrible tragedies echoed in her mind. The Batman holding the bloody and broken corpse of a young masked vigilante Mary recognized as Robin; a young woman with fiery red hair lying on her back, stripped naked, a horrible wound in her stomach; another woman, red haired but older than the other woman, kneeling and holding a baby, until a single shot from the Joker's gun caused her to fall to the ground, surrounded by infants now crawling around in the growing pool of her blood.

"I don't think your pet likes me Professor. Too bad Croc snatched Crane, I'm sure the good doctor would've loved this one's screams." Professor Strange glared at him before he grabbed Mary's arm and pulled her from the room, leaving the Joker under the watch of the TYGER guards.

"I did not bring you here to complain, girl, I brought you here to work," he hissed at the child who was currently trembling in fear.

"PLEASE YOU DO NOT AND CANNOT COMPREHEND THE EVILS IN THAT MAN'S MIND!"

"Well it's lucky for me that you can. Now go back in there and tell me what you see."

"I cannot, I cannot, I cannot, I cannot!" Mary sobbed, shaking her head frantically.

"You can and you will."

"Please!"

_**SLAP!**_

Mary's face flew to the other side as the Professor backhanded her. Mary stumbled back and fell, her hand flying toward her stinging cheek.

"I do not care for you and your little moods, all I care about is my work and getting it done. And if you make it more difficult for me to do my work then I have no use for you. And I do not keep that which I have no use for. Understood?" Mary paused for a long while, thinking over all the tortured prisoners that had been the Professor's victims, and remembering all the pain and lack of humanity in their eyes.

"Yes sir," Mary responded demurely. She knew the Professor well enough to know he would be completely fine with 'taking care of her' unless she did what he told her to do. The Professor straightened up.

"Good. Now, shall we begin?" Mary nodded slowly and the Professor led he back into the room. He seated Mary across from the Joker and Mary, after reminding herself of what the Professor would do to her if she didn't, slowly looked into his eyes.

"Oh come on kiddo. I don't bite," the Joker chuckled.

"Yes you do," Mary said.

"Huh. This ones' pretty smart Professor. Scared but smart."

"What do you see Miss Noble?" Professor Strange asked.

"Pain. Torture. Mutilation. And death. So much death," Mary muttered. "He kills for fun, as well to attract the attention of the caped crusader, not unlike yourself." Strange glared at her but she was too busy trying to keep herself under control to really care.

"All around the mulberry bush

The monkey was chased by the weasel;

The monkey thought that it was a joke

Pop! goes the weasel.

A penny for a spool of thread,

A penny for a needle—

That's the way the money goes,

Pop! goes the weasel.

Jimmy's got the whooping cough

And Timmy's got the measles

That's the way the story goes

Pop! goes the weasel," Mary sang to herself, before straightening up in her chair. "You're dying. Of the TITAN you took at the Asylum."

"Yes we all know that, continue," Strange demanded impatiently. Mary looked to the side, before nodding and looking back at the Joker.

"No clear past before this face, name, and identity. So many different options, all with the Batman as having a hand in his creation."

"Yes, yes, I know all that, but which one is true." Mary turned to Strange.

"Anyone of them could be. I do not believe he even knows anymore." Strange was clearly getting frustrated, it didn't take psychic to figure that out. "But I will keep digging," Mary assured him.

"Eh, good luck with that!" the Joker laughed. "I've had more doctors in here than ol' Batbrains has enemies." Mary ignored him and continued.

"I… I see something," Mary murmured, leaning a little closer. "Something long lost … a name."

"A name?" Professor Strange repeated and the Joker's smile faded.

"Yes. Hidden behind all the pain and loss and suffering inside… there is a name… it is–" Mary was cut off due to the Joker's hands suddenly wrapping around her neck and squeezing tight, cutting off both her voice and the flow of air to her lungs. She could barely make out the Professor's shouting for the guards to stop him until after they had pulled the Joker off of her. Mary fell backward, out of her chair and to the floor, gasping for breath.

"I think perhaps it would be better if we waited until they'd gone before we discussed what you saw in their minds," Strange commented as the Joker was dragged out of the room, absolutely laughing mad.

"I think… that… would be a good idea," Mary panted, massaging her throat.


	6. The Knight of the Cold

**A/N: In response to DP-fan's review, yes Mary's got quite a target on herself, but it's not like she's doing it willingly. And I like your use of the title in your review. Thanks!**

The Knight of the Cold and his Ice Princess

Mary stared up at gazed up at the sight in front of her in wonder. She'd seen many different prisoners of the professor, from rabid ravers and weed women, to mad milliners and crazed clowns, but she had yet to see someone almost literally frozen in ice. That is, until she met Nora Fries. Mary pulled her warm black hooded jacket the Strange had given her closer around her body as she moved toward the frozen female. The woman in the ice was hard to make out but Mary could tell if unfrozen, she would be beautiful. Mary smiled to herself and leaned against the glass.

"Mary! Step away from there!" the Professor ordered from behind her. Mary ignored him and continued to press more and more of her body against the container.

"So cold, for something so warm," she murmured.

"Mary!" the Professor shouted again, heading toward her to pull her away from his leverage. Mary ignored him and sighed.

"What must it be like, to sleep forever, undisturbed?" Mary wondered aloud, tapping her finger on the surface. "Does she dream? Is she plagued by nightmares? Or is it just a long, cold, unending darkness, like a lone cell long forgotten by all?" Mary was pulled out of her contemplation by Strange grabbing her arm and pulling her away, Mary flinching slightly as he did so. She'd been flinching or cowering in fear ever so slightly when the Professor was around since the Joker incident.

"Come along Miss Noble. Another patient will be arriving soon," Strange informed her, leading her away from the woman in ice. Mary looked back at the woman.

"Who is she?" Mary inquired.

"Leverage."

"Against who?" Strange smiled sinisterly to himself.

"You will find out soon enough my dear."

* * *

After seeing the woman in ice, Mary was not so surprised to see a man who looked like he was made of it in a suit that made him look like a cross between an astronaut and a robot.

"Miss Noble, this is Victor Fries, also known as –"

"Mr. Freeze," Mary finished, walking away from the Professor and sitting in her designated seat without instruction. Strange frowned.

"Yes. You may begin now."

"Who is this girl Strange?" Freeze inquired. The Professor was about to respond when Mary cut him off again.

"He calls me his assistant though I can assure you I am not so willingly," Mary stated, causing the Professor's frown to deepen.

"Miss Noble, I believe we agreed that you would keep the conversation to a minimum during these sessions," Strange reminded her.

"I hardly believe that a few comments here and there will cause me to slip something that would cause the patient I am surveying to attack me Professor. At least, as long as the comments are directed toward insulting you." Mary looked into Mr. Freeze' eyes and saw a young boy, absolutely fascinated with science, freezing sick pets with a look somewhere in between curiosity and hope on his face. Then an older boy, though Mary could easily tell it was the same one, was sitting alone in the corner of a crowded cafeteria, reading, brief echoes of insulting voice echoing in his mind. The memories shifted to see a beautiful young woman, dancing gracefully with the boy who was now a young man, her in a wedding dress and him in a suit. _Nora_, a voice whispered to Mary. _Nora was her name_. But then a chilling cold swept over Mary like a shadow, and Mary could almost feel her heart turn cold and blue. She was then greeted with the sight of Freeze holding the hand of his wife's hand as numerous readouts flashed by on the screen, and while Mary wasn't a doctor of any sort, she could tell that it wasn't good. The scene then shift to Fries apologizing to his wife as he pressed the button and froze her in time. Mary could sense something that might have been hope for a moment, only to have it shattered by the next memory. She could feel Fries' rage rolling off of him in loads as Ferris Boyle talked down on him and claimed Freeze's wife and love belong to him, along with the rest of his research. The combined pain of having to freeze Nora, the fear of losing her, and his absolute fury at Boyle for threatening to take her away made Fries finally snap and he attacked the cold hearted businessman. His guards grabbed Fries and pushed him back into the table covered in vials and chemicals. Mary watched, feeling tears well up in her eyes, as Fries lay helpless on the floor, his wife being dragged from the room by Boyle's guard, while the CEO stood above the injured scientist, taunting him. The next few memories were mere flashes of the past few years: him attempting to kill Ferris Boyle, Batman stopping him and returning Nora, Mr. Freeze fighting Batman on many other occasions, occasionally spending time in Arkham Asylum but always escaping, but most of all, his attempts at curing Nora's disease and his continued devotion to saving her. Mary shook her head sadly.

"I am so, so sorry about Nora, Mr. Freeze," Mary apologized and Mr. Freeze's eyes widened behind his goggles.

"What?"

"That's enough Miss Noble," Strange decided. He nodded at the TYGER guard in the room, who nodded back and started to pull Mary out of the room.

"I'm sure you can cure her one day! Don't give up hope!" Mary shouted as she was dragged out, the door slamming shut behind her.

* * *

"Can I have some paper and pencils?" Mary asked Professor Strange that night in the Security Control Center after dinner.

"Why?" the Professor asked without looking up form the file he was studying.

"Because I want to write," Mary explained.

"Very well." Mary smiled slightly. "On one condition." Mary's smiled slipped off.

"What?" she asked hesitantly.

"I will read your writing once you have finished." Mary raised an eyebrow.

"Is this an attempt to further your understanding of my psyche?" Mary questioned. Strange smiled, still surveying the file.

"I think you already know the answer to that." Mary sighed.

"Unfortunately." Strange motioned toward the blank pages on the table next to him and Mary took them and a pencil from the Professor before a sitting herself at a table and beginning to write.

_Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom called Gotham City, there lived a great and terrible knight of the cold who lived in a fortress of snow, who went on many quests, in attempt to find the magic that could save his ice princess_, Mary began. _Years earlier, when the princess first fell ill, the knight spent many days and many nights, searching the lands far and wide, attempting to use many different spells and enchantments, but all for naught. In a desperate attempt to keep her alive, the knight put his princess to sleep, until he could find the magic to save her. However, an evil king was angry at having his magic used to help the knight, and used the knight's own magic against him, before taking the princess away. The knight__'__s body and heart turned cold as a result of the attack, necessitating he wear armor of ice to keep himself alive__.__ He sought out revenge against the king who took his princess and changed him into the knight of the cold. The great dark knight interfered and saved the horrible king, but returned the princess to the knight. The knight has since sat in his fortress, practicing his magic and hoping, praying, that one day, his princess could be reawakened._

* * *

"Why did you choose to write Victor Fries' story in the form of a fairytale?" Strange inquired as he finished reading her story.

"Because he wishes more than anything for his wife to be cured, and in many fairytales that is the main motivation of the hero; to save the person they love," Mary explained.

"This is reality child, not a fairytale," Professor Strange said, looking over her story again.

"That does not mean I cannot wish for a happy ending," Mary shrugged.

"Happy endings do not exist."

"They do if you work for them, want them with all your heart, and are the hero of the story." Strange slammed down Mary's story, grabbed her arm, and pulled her toward him, Mary wincing as he did so.

"You believe that Mr. Freeze is the hero? He's a criminal. You've seen that haven't you?" Mary sighed exasperatedly.

"Yes. I have. But I believe that out of the many of the criminals I have met, he is the most likely to leave the life of crime, if only Nora was cured."

"But he has done terrible things," Strange maintained. Mary raised an eyebrow at him.

"You do not believe in redemption."

"Why should I? For years the Batman has let these criminals run free, instead of finding the courage to do what is necessary. And have any of them changed their ways?"

"Some of the lesser criminals have and yet you have had them thrown in Arkham City with the rest of the scum," Mary pointed out. "'Once a criminal, always a criminal,' seems to be your philosophy, in spite of the fact that as a psychiatrist it is your job to believe these people can be cured and help them toward it. Instead, you play with them, abuse them, and treat them like a spoiled child would his toys. You are hypocrite." Strange's grip on her arm tightened and Mary hissed in pain.

"Remember the warning I gave you during your session with the Joker my dear, and remember that it still stands," the Professor warned her. Mary gulped, looked down at her feet, and nodded. As much as she despised the Professor, Mary feared him more and wasn't desperate enough to fight him… yet.


	7. Bad King John

**A/N: I will warn you right now this is not one of my better chapters. However, due to the fact that it sets up the next few it is a "necessary evil" of sorts. I hope you enjoy it and I will try and post the next chapter as soon as possible, though I must warn you, I am going traveling soon so I may not update as regularly.**

Bad King John

The sounds of gunshots and screams of fear and agony echoed in the darkness, Mary turning around wildly, searching for their sources. She tasted the metallic tang of blood in her mouth and the stench of smoke and charred flesh invaded her nostrils. Mary could feel bile rising up in her throat as flashes of terrible tortures and monstrous murders flashed before her. Men, women, and children, of all ages, colors, classes, and occupations being shot, stabbed, choked, poisoned, and frozen, the looks of terror on their faces remaining there for all eternity.

"NO!" Mary screamed trying to run from the memories that surrounded her. She ran, and she ran through the darkness, toward a small ray of light in the distance. As she got closer and closer, she could make out the figure of a young man waiting in a doorway, the light on the other side. "JUSTIN!" she cried, sprinting even faster toward her brother, but just when began to believe she'd make it, a large metal door slammed shut, cutting off all light and leaving Mary trapped in the darkness forever.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mary screamed, bolting up in her cot. She continued screaming for a good two minutes after she'd awoken, but eventually stopped. Breathing heavily and trying to stop her sobs, she looked around her dark room, which was similar to the one she'd had in the Asylum. Could it have all been a dream? Mary wondered. Was she still in the Asylum, waiting for the darkness to devour her entirely, but far form the reach of Professor Strange and his terrible, horrible patients? There was banging on the door of her cell.

"Mary! Get up! We have another patient coming today!" Mary sobbed silently. No… it wasn't… It wasn't a dream. She dried her eyes quickly and got up. She wasn't trapped in the Asylum, but she was far from free. And she was beginning to believe the loneliness and isolation of the cell would be preferable, to looking into the minds of 'Gotham's Finest'.

* * *

"The order's all here, Professor Strange," a TYGER guard confirmed, checking over the crates of weapons currently in the Inmate Processing Center.

"Good. Mr. Cobblepot will be arriving soon," Strange nodded.

"Why are you are giving them guns?" Mary asked looking over the crates.

"Nothing to concern yourself with my dear." Mary just looked him in the eye.

"This is all part of your plan. You want to watch them tear each other apart and study the results, and this gives you an excuse to activate Protocol 10," Mary stated and Professor Strange frowned.

"It is rude to look into people's minds to find out what they do not want you to."

Mary shook her head and sighed in frustration at the Professor's hypocrisy when another sight caught her eye. The dozens of prisoners the Professor had experimented on back at the Asylum were being led out in chains, TYGER guards guiding them on using their stun sticks like cattle prods.

"What are you doing to them!" Mary cried trying to get closer to the patients but was stopped by the blockade of TYGER guards.

"Miss Noble, step back," Strange ordered.

"Not until you tell me what exactly you are planning to do with them!"  
"I am giving them to Mr. Cobblepot to be disposed of."

"NO! NO YOU CANNOT THEY DO NOT DESERVE THAT NO ONE DESERVES THAT!" Mary screamed, trying harder to get to them but failing. The Professor stalked forward, irritated, grabbed Mary's arm, and dragged her toward her cell. Unlocking the door, Professor Strange threw her inside, Mary falling to the floor in a heap, before slamming the door shut, sealing her in darkness.

* * *

Thankfully, Mary's confinement to her cell did not last nearly as long as the others, due to the Professor's need for her abilities, which led to her to currently be sitting outside his office, hours later, waiting for him to send her in. Sure enough, the door soon opened and Mary entered the room to find a very short man in a fur coat with an umbrella and what looked like the bottom of a glass bottle covering his left eye.

"Eh. O's this?" he asked when he saw Mary.

"My assistant, Miss Noble. Miss Noble, this is Mr. Cobblepot," Strange answered.

"The Penguin," Mary noted.

"Yes. You may begin." Mary sighed internally. Another day at work, same as usual. Nevertheless, Mary looked into his eyes and was immediately greeted with the sight of a young Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, glaring at a young black haired boy in a suit, a little younger than eight years old. Not long after the Penguin sat, laughing to himself as he read a newspaper with the headline "Thomas and Martha Wayne Gunned down in Alleyway: young son Bruce only survivor." The next was of a boy, older now, in some city that did not look like Gotham, smoking a cigarette and watching a bunch of other boys were beating up another. The next were of his exploits as an adult: the mob boss, the nightclub owner, the man who created Victor Zsasz (Mary cringed slightly at that), and his numerous tortures of many of different thugs (at this point Mary was feeling a little nauseous).

"I am done," Mary stated. There was nothing extremely complicated about the man in front of her. He was not crazy: bloodthirsty, yes, but not crazy.

"Good. You may leave." Mary nodded, got up, and headed for the door.

"What the 'ell was that about Strange?" the Penguin asked as Mary left the room, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

"Now, what did you see in Mr. Cobblepot?" Strange asked as they finished dinner that night. Mary sighed, not wanting to remember that man so soon after eating, but not having much of a choice.

"He is jealous of the Waynes, especially Bruce Wayne. He feels as though they've had too much good fortune and that their luck led to his unhappiness," Mary explains. "Also, he harbors great resentment of society because his appearance led to most people judging him. Overall, his inferiority complex, due to being an outcast as a child, leads him to believing he is better than everyone. He is not insane but may choose to leave a life of crime." Strange nodded.

"Anything else?" he inquired. Mary nodded.

"John, John, bad King John  
Shamed the throne that he sat on;  
Not a scruple, not a straw,  
Cared this monarch for the law;  
Promises he daily broke;  
None could trust a word he spoke;  
So the Barons brought a Deed;  
Down to rushy Runnymede,  
Magna Carta was it hight,  
Charter of the People's Right,  
Framed and fashioned to correct  
Kings who act with disrespect –  
And with stern and solemn air,  
Pointing to the parchment there,  
'Sign! Sign! Sign!' they said  
'Sign, King John, or resign instead!'  
John, John, turning pale,  
Ground his teeth and bit his nail;  
Chewed his long moustache; and then  
Ground and bit and chewed again.  
'Plague upon the People!' he  
Muttered, 'What are they to me?  
Plague upon the Barons, too!'  
(Here he had another chew,)  
But the Barons, standing by,  
Eyed him with a baleful eye;  
Not a finger did they lift;  
Not an eyelash did they shift;  
But with one tremendous roar,  
Even louder than before,  
'Sign! Sign! Sign!' they said,  
'SIGN, KING JOHN, OR RESIGN INSTEAD!'"

"The Penguin is rather similar to tyrannical kings of the dark ages," Mary said. "He owns everything and uses people with less power than him and often kills and tortures them for his own amusement." Strange nodded. "There's one more thing that may interest," Mary added. "Solomon Grundy."

"Pardon?" Strange inquired.

"Solomon Grundy. Like from the nursery rhyme.

'Solomon Grundy,

Born on a Monday,

Christened on Tuesday,

Married on Wednesday,

Took ill on Thursday,

Grew worse on Friday,

Died on Saturday,

Buried on Sunday.

That was the end,

Of Solomon Grundy.'"

"Why on earth would you cite that silly old nursery rhyme for Mr. Cobblepot?" Mary sighed in frustration.

"There is a monster called Solomon Grundy under the Iceberg Lounge. Penguin uses him to dispose of goons and other problems." Strange frowned.

"This is not the time for one of your little stories child," he scolded, getting up from the table. Mary's jaw almost dropped, and she shot up after the Professor.

"I am telling the truth," Mary maintained.

"I highly doubt that." Mary's blood was boiling at this point. After all this time, after everything she'd done for the Professor, after he knew how much she loathed liars, he had the gall to say she was telling tales.

"I am not lying!" Mary shouted throwing a punch at Professor Strange, which he immediately grabbed, twisted behind Mary's back, and used to force Mary face first into a desk.

"You need to learn to control your emotions my dear. It was your lack of self control that put you in the Asylum," Strange pointed out.

"No, that was my parents." Mary hissed as the Professor bent her arm further behind her back.

"Regardless of why you ended up in the Asylum, your unstable temper does nothing to help your case when it comes to your mental stability. And you must learn to understand that unchecked temper will result in punishment, just like disobedience. Understood?" the Professor inquired and Mary paused, before she sighed and nodded reluctantly.

* * *

Mary skipped through the halls of the TYGER facilities, searching for the supply room. Upon finding a book that taught her how to pick locks and hack computers, Mary had begun planning her newest escape attempt and had decided to use her new knowledge to break out of her cell and after hiding behind corners to avoid being spotted by the TYGER guards and making a few wrong turns, Mary eventually found the supply room. After unlocking the code (the word dangerous), Mary shuffled through boxes, looking for anything and everything that could aid in her escape. Picking up a backpack, Mary grabbed a grappling gun, cables, and any other equipment might be useful. Hearing the sound of heavy boots pass by the door, Mary decided it was time to return to her cell. Mary slowed as she passed Professor Strange's office, not wanting him to hear her, and heard a peculiar sound. Mary stopped and quietly opened the door, her curiosity getting the better of her. There was the Professor, sitting in his chair, dressed in what appeared to be a suit that looked like the Batman's. And he was… crying. Mary cocked her head. She'd never seen him cry before. Actually, she'd never seen him be very emotional at all, other than when he was angry. Then it hit Mary like her back hit the mat during her and the Professor's training sessions: inferiority complex. He felt he was inferior to the Batman and he couldn't stand that. Mary couldn't believe herself, but she was actually feeling sorry for the Professor and decided, against her better judgment, to try and help him.

"Professor?" Mary asked tentatively and the Professor's head snapped up and gave Mary a glare that made her mentally hit herself for wanting to help him.

"GET OUT!" he shouted, shooting up out of his seat.

"Professor–"

"OUT! GET OUT! OUT! OUT!" He grabbed Mary by the back of her dress and flung her out of the office and against the opposite wall. "AND IF YOU EVER SPEAK OF THIS TO ANYONE I WILL ENSURE YOU NEVER SPEAK AGAIN!" He slammed the door, with a BANG and left Mary on the floor, her head hurting from her impact with the wall.

"Ow," she muttered, rubbing the back of her head. So much for reaching out to him.


	8. Political Prisoners

**A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter seems a little unrealistic to you but, to be honest, the entire plot of the Batman Arkham Games is unrealistic.**

Political Prisoners

It seemed as though Professor Strange either wanted to ignore Mary's discovery of him crying or he had believed it was all a dream. Either way, he did not confront Mary about it, for which she was extremely thankful. The last thing she needed at the moment was to get on the Professor's bad side… well, worse side, at least. However, things seemed to be shifting in the air. The Professor wasn't meeting with patients as often and as a result, didn't need Mary as much, which was helping her plan her escape. However, a strange occurrence happened in the Prisoner Processing Center one day whilst a TYGER guard was escorting her upstairs to breakfast. Mary saw Professor Strange standing above several men in blue prisoner jumpsuits, who were sitting on the floor and trembling in absolute terror. Mary frowned; these men did not have the same aura about them as the other criminals. They were not hostile or threatening or very aggressive in any way, shape, or form. So why were they here?

"Please Professor, we did everything you asked, you don't have to do this!" one man cried, only to receive the butt of a TYGER guard's gun to his face for his efforts.

"I think you'll find that I do," the Professor smiled. "Enjoy Arkham City." With that, the TYGER guards began pushing and dragging the prisoners to their feet and toward the gates of Arkham City. Mary moved closer to the Professor as she watched.

"Who are they?" she asked the Professor, still looking at the new inmates.

"These men have evidence that could throw a wrench into our plans," the Professor explained.

"Therefore you needed to remove them," Mary finished.

"Precisely." Mary sighed as she watched the insertion chamber doors close, sealing the prisoners inside the walls of Arkham City.

"Will no one notice that they have been incarcerated?" Mary inquired. Strange chuckled to himself.

"No. These men are unimportant. No one will notice their absence and no one will care even if they do."

* * *

Mary typed in the code to open the door that led to the balcony above the Prisoner insertion chambers, her backpack filled with food and supplies for the political prisoners and her grappling gun in her belt. Professor Strange was in a 'meeting' with a man called the Demon and would not be back until late, making this the perfect time for Mary to help those men. However, as Mary looked over the edge at the ground a few stories below, her brain was offering much argument.

_**This is stupid. You are going to get yourself killed if you do this**__, _Mary's brain reasoned.

_Someone needs to help them and no one else in this city is going to, _Mary pointed out.

_**You are twelve! You are not even able to land a hit on Strange when you fight him during lessons, what makes you think you can survive ten thousand of Gotham's deadliest criminals?**_

_But I can run fast. And it is not as though I am going to be taking down any super criminals or thugs or anything. I am just running through the city, getting the supplies to the prisoners, and then getting out. Simple._

_**Nothing is simple here and you know it. What if the Professor finds out?**_

_The TYGER guards still think I am in the Library and probably will not check until lunchtime, if they even manage to remember lunch. They are rather dim when the Professor is gone. _Mary then calmed her nerves and put her finger on the trigger. _Now or never_, she thought to herself, and she shot the grappling gun. The hook attached itself to the roof of a building across and Mary was pulled across the square, flying through the air, until she collided with the building she was grappling towards. _Ow_, Mary remarked to herself, pulling her bruised and battered body onto the roof. _Well that could've gone better._ She looked down at the ground far below_. Then again it could've gone worse_. Mary then started to climb over rooftops, being careful not to look down or get too close to the edge. Thankfully, first few buildings in the area of the Bowery she was in were fairly close together, meaning she only had to clamber over air conditioners or odd cage like structures made of what looked like chicken wire and metal slating. That is until she came to a huge gap in between the buildings that led straight down to the street a good few levels down.

_**One fall and you are dead**__, _Mary's brain noted.

_Thank you for reminding me of that, brain, _Mary shot back. She shook her head and grappled herself atop a taller building, before attaching a hook to the building and lowering herself to the shorter building beside it. She then started clambering across the rooftops and over a metal hatch of some sort covered in question marks. She carefully jumped across another gap onto the roof of the "Monarch Theater" and used her grapple to pull herself across gaps that were too wide for Mary to want to risk. She smiled. _This wasn't so hard._ Then, when she began climbing on the vents of the "Black Canary Club," with the nearest rooftop across the street filled with half a dozen inmates, Mary's heart-rate began to rise apprehensively. _Ok, ok, ok, ok. You can do this, you can do this, you can do this, _Mary told herself, tentatively directing her grappling hook to the building right next to the church. _Just aim and fire!_ she thought, and her grappling hook shot off, connected with the roof, and sent Mary whizzing above the road. Mary hurriedly pulled herself onto the building, panting hard and looking down to make sure no one had spotted her. They hadn't. She sighed with relief before she lowered herself onto the roof of the church and climbed down onto the partially collapsed freeway that stood right next door. Sneaking gingerly across the asphalt, praying not to come across any thugs, Mary snuck into position and grappled herself to the higher highway. She ran to edge of the collapsed roads and lowered herself down, right at the edge of the Political Prisoner's camp. A man in a blue coat stumbled backwards when Mary made her entrance, but came a little closer when he realized how small she was.

"Who are you?" her asked.

"A friend," Mary replied, removing her backpack and opening it. She held out an apple and the prisoner reluctantly took it. "Where are the others?" The man in the blue coat turned his head toward conglomerate of cubicles.

"Hey, guys! Come over here!" the prisoner called and other men, dressed in blue coats like his own, began to emerge from small metal shacks. Mary smiled slightly before she emptied her pack.

"I grabbed as much from the supply room as I could. It is not terribly much but I will try and bring more as soon as I can. Make it last as long as possible," Mary instructed as the men began devouring the produce.

"Thank you," one man muttered through a mouthful of food.

"You do not need to thank me. Good luck." With that Mary ran off and headed back for the TYGER facilities.


	9. Riddle Me, Riddle Me, Ree

**A/N: I know, I know, it's been too long, I've been on the road, I'm sorry. Hope this makes up for it.**

Riddle Me, Riddle Me, Ree

Mary climbed the rooftops of Arkham City, ready to make her usual delivery of food to the political prisoners. She'd been doing this for almost a month now without incident, which was good for her because she did not want to think of the repercussions her actions might bring if the Professor ever discovered them. The Professor was gone again, not due back until late tomorrow, which meant she could make a few trips this time without having to worry about him. Clambering over the metal hatch covered in question marks, Mary let out a cry of surprise when the hatch opened from under her feet. Mary fell into the hole below and, landing roughly at the bottom, she faded into darkness.

* * *

Mary slowly opened her eyes, blinking as she adjusted to the light. She was in a wooden room, strapped to a metal table that was leveled vertically and everything in the room was tinged green due to the odd lighting. Monitors cover the wall, labeled Test 1 through Test 5 and viewing rooms filled with what looked like electric flooring, rotating blades, and glowing green question marks. Mary's pondering over what purpose those items could possibly serve was interrupted by a voice.

"So, you're Strange's little pet. Miss Noble, I believe?" Mary jumped and turned to see a man clad in a green suit covered in question marks emerge from the shadows. His posture, voice, and overall dress sense gave Mary a feeling of intelligence, sophistication, and absolute arrogance. Mary took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her hammering heart. She was used to encountering psychopaths by now, (heck, she was being kept prisoner by one) but this situation was very different. For one, the Professor and his TYGER guards were not there to keep him from harming her in the event of her saying something the person present did not like what she had to say.

"How do you know about me?" she questioned.

"I am the Riddler, I make it my business to know everything I can about my fellow inmates, as well as the staff who work here."

"So what do you want from me?"

"The few rumors I've heard about your existence have stated that you are a… psychic of sorts, and because of your abilities you can look into other people's minds," the Riddler stated. He dragged a chair over and sat down in front of her. "So, what do you see in me?" Mary sighed internally, knowing that, as always, she didn't have a choice and slowly looked into his eyes. His mind was almost buzzing with plans and equations, almost like the Joker's in some ways, though the clown's thoughts were far more chaotic and more centered around the enjoyment of the game he played continuously with Batman, while the Riddler was more focused on besting the Bat. Searching through his memories, Mary saw a young boy being beaten by his father (Mary winced slightly while she remembered her own faded bruises), winning a school competition, and then being accused of cheating by his father. The rest of his life was entirely centered around his attempts to destroy the Batman.

"Riddle me, riddle me, ree,  
A hawk sat upon a tree;  
And he says to himself, says he,  
La! what a fine bird I be!  
But the Bat flies above in the air  
And looks at the hawk down there  
And though the hawk may try  
He may never fly as high," Mary muttered and the Riddler's eyes narrowed.

"So the rumors are true." Mary didn't reply but looked around the room she was currently captive in.

"So you have brought me here because–"

"Someone with your talents who spends so much time with the man 'in charge' of this facility is liable to know a few secrets about him and the inner workings of the system," the Riddler cut her off. Mary fully realized what he wanted from her, and what the repercussions would be for her if the Professor ever found out. She lowered her head.

"I am sorry but I cannot tell you those things," she murmured and the Riddler sighed.

"Well if you won't do it willingly then I have other methods," he said. The Riddler got up from his chair took two cables, attached them to the metal table, and took a remote from his pocket. But before he could push the button Mary cried "Wait!" He paused and she gulped. "If I beat you in a game of solving riddles, you let me go. If I lose, then I will tell you anything and everything you wish to know." The Riddler grinned and put away the remote.

"Very well." Straightening his suit, the Riddler sat down again. "You can see nothing else, when you look in my face, I will look you in the eye, and I will never lie."  
"Your reflection," Mary answered and the Riddler nodded.

"What English word retains the same pronunciation, even–"  
"Queue." The Riddler narrowed his eyes but nodded.

"This old one runs foreve–"  
"A Waterfall." He was fuming at this point.

"What word–"  
"Short." He slammed his cane on the ground in frustration.  
"Ok, that's just cheating!" he shouted, reminding Mary so vividly of an elementary school boy she almost laughed.

"I prefer to think of it as using my abilities to my advantage."

"An unfair advantage, which equates to cheating, for which you forfeit," the Riddler said, taking the remote from his pocket.

"That's not fair," Mary cried.  
"That's life child, and the sooner you learn that the better off you'll be. Now, tell me everything you know about Professor Strange," the green clad man ordered, pacing around Mary who twisted and struggled in an attempt to keep him in her sights.

"I cannot do that," Mary maintained. The Riddler clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"Wrong answer." He pressed the button.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!" Mary screamed as electricity coursed up and through her body. She had never, ever, been in such pain before. Maybe this is what it feels like to die, Mary thought and then suddenly, the energy stopped and her body collapsed on itself. She panted heavily.

"Tell me about Strange!"

"I cannot!"

Another shock. Another scream.

"Tell me about him!"

"I cannot!"

Another zap, another scream.

"TELL ME!" the Riddler screamed.

"He will kill me if I do," Mary sobbed.

"Well in that case maybe I should go down to the political prisoners' camp and see if one of them could help me get you to talk?" the Riddler threatened.

"NO!" He raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Well then?" Mary took a deep breath and before she could stop herself, the secrets of Professor Strange began slipping from her lips; His experiments on the "most forgettable inmates," his special medication he sent to Mayor Sharp, the ex warden of Arkham Asylum, every week… his secret suit he kept hidden away. Halfway through she'd started sobbing but the Riddle took no notice. The only response she received was the widening of his eyes at the information he was absorbing. By the time she was done, she had spilled every secret, except about his funding from the man called "the Demon" and the fact he knew the Batman's identity, and she was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted.

"Thank you for your cooperation Miss Noble. This conversation has been most enlightening," the Riddler smiled, before he got up and began to walk away.

"Wait, you said you would let me go!" Mary shouted.

"If you beat me at the riddles. You cheated and therefore lost. Cheaters never prosper," he replied over his shoulder.

"Ironic coming from you." She received another shock for her comment.

* * *

The Riddler was asleep. That much Mary was sure of. No man, genius or moron, could fake snoring that well, especially that loud. Mary began twisting her wrists in the leather straps, loosening them. They were very well made, but obviously made for adults, and not skinny twelve-year-old girls. Sure enough, after what seemed like hours of work, the combination of her slim wrists and her anxious sweat allowed her to free one wrist. Sighing in relief, Mary quickly undid the other bindings and freed herself from the table. Sliding to the floor quietly, Mary quickly got her bag from by the Riddler's desk and sneaked away through the halls of the Riddler's hideout and out the door. She looked around, breathing heavily after holding her breath for so long. She was boxed in on all sides by two walls, a fence that fully blocked the way out, and an electric fence that was shorter than the other. _There's got to be a way out_, she told herself. She spotted some boxes lying around and suddenly and idea sparked in her mind. Carefully, so as to not wake the Riddler, she started piling the boxes, making a stairway to climb over the electric fence. Mary then climbed up and looked down on the fence. _Here goes nothing_, she thought to herself and jumped across, somersaulting to the ground below. Body bruised, battered, and still sore from her session with the electroshock torture, she smiled nonetheless, happy to be free of that particular psychopath. Using her grappling gun, Mary pulled herself up the buildings on the surface above and back to the TYGER facilities. However, her smile faded when she realized the gravity of the situation. The fact that the Riddler had captured her while attempting to help the political prisoners meant that she would have to stop going out to help them… at least for a while. And if she did go back out, she'd have to be quicker, and use a new route. That is, if the Professor didn't kill her for spilling his secrets. At this point, Mary considered just fending for herself in the city, rather than facing an angry Professor Strange. Mary started pacing. She could always say the Riddler hacked the TYGER facility cameras or something. He was smart enough to do that. But her conscious protested.

_**Whatever happened to not lying? **_her brain asked. _**After all these years, after seeing all the terrible liars in the world, you would stoop to their level?**_

Mary sighed. It would be a new low for her. Other than occasionally biting or scratching people (or hitting them on the head with a brick in order to avoid getting killed), she'd always strived to be good and honest. Suddenly, images of all that she'd seen in other since Professor Strange had discovered her: Zsasz's 'zombies', the Joker's murders, Penguin's tortures. Compared to those crimes, telling a lie to save her life, and possibly the lives of the political prisoners, was hardly a sin at all. So, her decision made, Mary reluctantly opened the door and walked back into her gilded cage.

* * *

"Mary, a strange thing occurred yesterday," the Professor informed her. It was a week after Mary's encounter with the Riddler, and she was currently eating dinner with Professor Strange. Mary took a gulp of water in an attempt to hide her anxiety.

"What happened Professor?" she inquired, dreading the answer.

"Mister Edward Nigma hacked his way into the intercom system in my office."

"He did?" Mary muttered, feigning surprise. Of course he would. He couldn't resist showing off his knowledge.

"Yes. And he revealed that he knew a good number of secrets about me. Secrets that only you would know." Mary swallowed. The Professor stood, walked over to her, and looked down, peering at her over his round reflective glasses. "Care to explain?"

"I – I – I don't know how he acquired his information." The Professor narrowed his eyes at her and she looked down. "Perhaps it would be best if I go to bed early tonight." Mary moved to get up and walk past Strange but he grabbed her arm.

"You will leave when I allow you to do so Miss Noble," he reminded her squeezing her arm.

"Professor, you are hurting me," Mary whimpered.

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing. I have never even seen him!" The pressure on her arm increased and Mary hissed and tried in vain to pull her arm free from his grasp.

"That will soon be your neck unless you tell me what I want to know," he stated.

"How do you know he didn't hack your security cameras?" Mary shouted. "They're all over the place and the Riddler is a computer genius. He could have easily found the information he needed from them." Professor Strange's grip on Mary's arm loosened and she used the opportunity to pull her arm from his grasp and put as much space between the two of them as possible. Strange looked her over for a moment, face stoic, before turning on his heel and leaving her. Mary let out a breath of relief, rubbed her wrist, and winced. That could've gone better.

* * *

**A/N: I hope Mary's escape wasn't too easy, but truthfully getting into and out of the Riddler's lair isn't that difficult, it's the 'not blowing up the hostages' that's the hard part.**


	10. The Medical Team

**A/N: Again, sorry, it took so long. The next two chapters should be out soon, but after that I can't guarantee how soon the next ones will be out. But, for people who are fans of "A Series of Unfortunate Events," I'm aiming to have the first chapter of the sequel out by the twentieth. Also, the first part goes back to the Batman and Mary in present day, and the rest is Mary's experiences in Arkham City. Oh, and I got a Tumblr! So if you have one, follow me, my username is misssingingintherain. Anyway, please review and enjoy! **

The Medical Team

Mary and the Batman landed outside the church. "You should be safe here until I can get you out of Arkham City," Batman said as Mary dusted herself off, one arm wrapped around her book. She smiled and nodded, hair windswept from her flight through Arkham City.

"Thank you. For everything," Mary replied and the Batman nodded, opening the door for her. The Batman then pounded on the second door, which was covered by security shutters, and shouted, "Open up!" The metal barrier quickly slid up and the Dark Knight opened the door.

"Thank god it's you Batman," Eddie Burlow said as the Batman entered Mary following right behind him. Eddie Burlow dropped his gun when he saw her.

"Mary?" he asked and Mary's smile widened even more as the security guard hugged her and spun her around.

"Mr. Burlow, you are alright!" She exclaimed. She looked around the church, searching for something or someone else. "Where is everyone? Where is Stacy?" Burlow's smile faded.

"The Riddler got them. I don't know where Stacy is." Mary's smile slipped off her face and her shoulders drooped.

"Stacy Baker?" the Batman interjected and the little blonde girl nodded. "I know where she is. I'll try and get her back." A smile tugged at her lips but slipped off again in realization.

"Are the others…" Mary faltered but the Batman knew what she was asking.

"Not yet and they aren't going to."

"And you will get them back?" The Batman nodded.

"I will."

* * *

Mary skipped around the Wonder Tower Foundations, happy to be spending time in a place that wasn't her cell, the Security Control Center, or the Library. The Professor had been keeping a closer eye on her ever since his accusation of her spilling his secrets, but she was able to keep herself acting as though nothing was wrong, even though her gut clenched when she thought about the political prisoners. Running her hand across the railing of the walkway, a thought struck her. She climbed onto the railing and stood, smiling slightly as she began to walk on the thin surface. Just like the Batman. She remembered doing something like this with the boy from her dreams. It was one of the few times she could remember feeling brave.

"Mary! Mary, get down from there this instant before you–" Strange was cut off by Mary screaming as she lost her balance and fell from the railing to the ground below. "Oh for god's sake!" Strange seethed. "Guards! Get her!" A guard quickly jumped down and began examining Mary's unconscious form.

"Professor Strange, she's bleeding an awful lot." Strange growled angrily.

"Get one of the helicopters ready. Immediately!" The guard nodded and picked Mary up with ease. Within minutes, Strange burst through the doors of the Medical.

"Professor Strange! What exactly are you doing here?" a heavily armed African American security guard with a hook exclaimed.

"This girl needs medical assistance," Strange said, motioning to Mary. A blonde doctor promptly jumped up, had the TYGER guard place Mary on a bed, and began examining her and bandaging her injuries.

"Who is she?" the guard known as Aaron Cash inquired.

"She's my… ward," Strange stated and both Aaron Cash and the blonde doctor, Stacy Baker, looked at him in disbelief.

"Your ward?" Baker repeated, slight jersey accent accentuating her words.

"She was an inmate at the Asylum and had no family, so I decided to take her in. Now, are you going to waste precious time interrogating me when you could be helping her?" Strange seethed. Baker nodded and continued her analysis of Mary's injuries.

"She took quite a tumble. She'll have to spend the night, maybe a few more days."

"Days!" Strange shouted and the blonde doctor raised an eyebrow at him.

"Is there a problem with that Professor?" The Professor took a deep breath and shook his head stiffly.

"No. Just report her progress to me. I'll come collect her when she's ready." Turning on his heel, he stormed out of the facility and back to his tower.

* * *

Hours later, Mary awoke to a very unfamiliar sight. She was lying on a bed; but it was not her bed because her bed was far less comfortable than this one and the pillow had no grappling hook or backpack hidden inside. And she was in a room; but it was not her room because it was huge and echoed and architectural and interesting and reminded her of what she imagined the inside of a castle to look like. And there were people here; but they were not Professor Strange, or his TYGER guards, or even any criminals she'd encountered in Arkham City. In fact, they looked… nice. Needless to say, Mary was very confused indeed.

"Professor?" she muttered, trying to sit up in the bed she was laying on, but her body and head instantly protested to such an action, causing her to reel in pain and fall back down on her back. The blonde doctor rushed over and kneeled down next to Mary's bed.

"It's ok, it's ok. You're safe. I'm Stacy Baker. What's your name?" she asked softly.

"Mary," the twelve-year-old psychic murmured back.

"Mary?" She nodded. "It's nice to meet you Mary." The young girl smiled. "How exactly did you get these injuries?"

"Walked on a rail… Fell far… Hurt." Doctor Baker raised an eyebrow.

"Strange didn't give you these injuries?" Mary shook her head. "Has he ever hurt you?"

"No." The blonde doctor rolled up her patient's left sleeve, looked at the bruises around her wrist, and raised an eyebrow. Mary looked down at her lap again and admitted. "Only when… I misbehave." Stacy bit her lip as she thought for a minute before she turned her head back toward the other people in the facility.

"Cash! How long do you think we can keep the Professor at bay?" she shouted and the African American security guard with the hook turned to her.

"Maybe a week or two," he called back. "We won't be able to last if he comes knocking on the door with a dozen TYGER guards with him, but I think we can stall him if we make up medical reports." Stacy smiled and turned back to Mary.

"It's settled then. You're staying for as long as you we can keep you." And for the first time in what felt like forever, Mary felt safe.

* * *

Mary's fall had resulted in a near concussion and her right wrist being broken. Doctor Baker put a cast on the girl's wrist, which would have to remain on for around three weeks, possible more due to Mary's less than satisfactory health condition.

"Have you ever even been outside kid?" Doctor Baker inquired, looking over her patient's medical reports, which all concluded that she was slightly malnourished and had weak bones due to not enough sunlight and Vitamin D. Mary's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Outside?"

"Yeah. You know, playing, jumping around, climbing trees, having fun," Stacy Baker listed off. The young girl hesitated.

"I think so… once… before the cell… and the darkness." The doctor nodded.

"Well, considering where we are currently located I wouldn't suggest going outside right now. However, you need more physical activity too so I guess we'll have to find something for you to play in here." Mary perked up a bit at that and Stacy took notice. She set down her clipboard. "Ever played hide and go seek kid?" She shook her head. "Well, you go hide somewhere in the church and I'll look for you. When I find you, then we start the game again and you look for me." She nodded. "Ok." Stacy turned toward the wall and closed her eyes. "One, two, three," she counted off and Mary slid off of the patient bed and began looking for a place to hide. The gargoyles would be good, but the height presented a problem, so she opted for lower level options. Hiding under the patients beds was too visible, the confessional was a bit obvious, and the curtains were just too easy. Spotting a grate on the floor, Mary grinned. She opened it and climbed down into it, effectively hiding herself. A good while later, Stacy Baker peered down into the grate and smiled.

"Found you," Stacy said and Mary emerged, slightly dusty but gleeful nonetheless. "Your turn. Count to twenty and then come and find me." The young blonde girl nodded and began count, her mind wandering to wonder whom came up with "Hide and Seek" and why, making a note to herself to research it if ever presented with the opportunity. Realizing she'd gone far past twenty, she stopped counting and began to search the church for any place large enough for an adult. The desk in an alcove near the door drew her eye and she looked under it to find a scrunched up Doctor Baker.

"Found you!" she exclaimed and helped pull the doctor to her feet.

"You're pretty good at this kid," she commented and the girl beamed. Mary glanced at the desk and noticed a photo of a family.

"Who's family is this?" she asked.

"Mine," a voice behind her and the doctor said and they turned to see Aaron Cash observing them. Mary looked in his eyes before turning back to the picture.

"You miss them," she stated.

"Yeah," he muttered. Mary smiled sadly.

"You have a nice family," she said. "Happy and sweet. You are lucky to have them, and they are lucky to have you." Mary handed him back his photograph. "Promise me you'll love them. That you'll be there for them and help them and cherish them. Please?" she murmured and Cash looked at her. He nodded.

"I will." Mary smiled, glad that there would be at least one happy family together in Gotham.

* * *

The days passed far too quickly in Mary's opinion, for she hadn't felt this happy in years. The people at the Medical Center were kind and good, which was a refreshing change from all the psychotic criminals she'd come across since her imprisonment in Arkham Asylum. While Mary made sure to stay out of the doctors way while they were working, all the time they weren't helping inmates, she laughed, played, told stories, and sang songs with them, feeling like she had a family again for the first time in years. But alas, all good things end eventually, as she realized when Stacy Baker's braiding of her hair was interrupted by someone pounding on the door. Every doctor and security guard's head shot up, as Professor Hugo Strange's voice shouted, "Open up!" Stacy quickly untangled her fingers from Mary's hair, stood up, and began to move slowly toward the door.

"Mary go hide," she instructed. Mary frowned in confusion.

"What?"

"Go hide," Stacy repeated. "I'll take care of him."

"I'm comin' with you Doc. Just in case," Cash stated and the Doctor nodded.

"But–" Mary began but was stopped by a pleading look from Doctor Baker. Mary sighed and, reluctantly, hid inside the confessional. She heard the sound of a door opening and the Professor's voice soon followed.

"You've had plenty of time to tend to her wounds, she should be able to manage without extraneous supervision by this point," Strange said.

"Professor Strange, you have to understand, she's severely malnourished, and as a result, it takes her much longer to recover," Doctor Baker attempted to explain.

"It's been a week Doctor! You will let me see her now." There was a slight pause and Doctor Baker said something that made the world freeze. "No." Silence.

"What did you say?" Strange grit out.

"I said no. You can't see her."

"And why would that be?" Another pause.

"She had an awful lot of bruises when she came to us Professor, most of which were too old to come from her fall… and some of which looked an awful lot like they had come from a hand wrapped tightly around her neck and wrists. Also, when I asked her about them she seemed very nervous and kept trying to avoid talking about them… almost like she was worried she'd get more if she talked," Doctor Baker said in a matter of fact way.

"I don't know what you're implying, Doctor," Strange hissed.

"I'm not implying anything. However, I think the media would very interested in the treatment of your young ward."

"You'd have to get out of Arkham City alive before you could say a word."

"Is that a threat Professor?"

"Only is you force my hand, now do the smart thing and get out of my way."

"No." There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh and several of the Doctors shouted. Mary held a hand to keep herself from gasping. She never wanted anyone to get hurt because of her, much less someone who had been as kind to her as Doctor Baker.

"You insolent scum!" Cash shouted, but was cut off by a military like warning of "Stand down or you will be shot." Mary sighed. Of course the Professor would bring his TYGER guards along. Footsteps echoed throughout the church and Mary's heart beat quickened with ever footfall.

"Mary? Come out, come out, wherever you are," the Professor called and she shivered. "I'm not playing games with you child. Come out now and I won't hurt your new friends." Her heart screamed at her to give herself up before he hurt anyone else but her head was too scared to move her legs. Strange sighed. "Give them a warning shot."

_**BANG!**_

Several doctors screamed and jumped at the sound of the warning shot. Mary put her hands over her ears, trying to block out the sound. "The next shot will embed itself inside Doctor Baker's brain Miss Noble." Her blood turned so cold, she wondered if this was what it felt like to be Mr. Freeze. "I'll count to three. One." He would kill everyone in that room to get what he wanted. "Two." Could she live with the blood of innocent people on her hands? "Thr–"

"Wait!" Mary screamed and bolted out into the open area of the church. She faced Strange, attempting to ignore her pounding heart and the worried faces of the doctors and guards. "I will go. I will go with you… just leave them alone." Strange smiled sinisterly.

"Glad you see things my way child." He motioned toward the door and Mary began to drag her feet in that direction. Doctor Baker attempt to stop Mary but Strange grabbed her arm.

"Speak one word to anyone about my ward and I can guarantee that no one will ever find any trace of her," he threatened. Doctor Baker swallowed, looked down, and nodded in defeat. Strange smiled again and let her go, walking out the doors and heading back to his tower.


	11. Studying the Bat

Studying the Bat

A wounded and battered looking TYGER guard was sitting strapped to a chair in a dimly lit room. A black-gloved hand took a Taser from a metal tray nearby and jabbed it into the side of his throat causing the unconscious guard to jerk awake, screaming in agony. He began to struggle against his bonds as the Doctor circled around him.

"I need details Captain. Tell me everything about him," Strange ordered.

"I'm in a lot of pain," the TYGER guard grit out. The doctor's black-gloved hand took an injection from the metal tray.

"This will help you _remember_!" Professor Strange said, giving the guard the shot.

"We thought we had him trapped. But he was waiting for us," the guard explained, much more calmly.

* * *

_The guard, fully garbed in TYGER guard armor, observed the Batman from afar, using night vision goggles to keep track of his location. __"Target in sight," the guard said into his radio, and after the other guards silently signaled the others, they began to advance on him. However, by the time the guard turned his goggles back on, the Batman had vanished. He looked to his __left, only for someone to push his face into the low wall in front of him._

* * *

Strange injected the guard with another shot, covering the guard's mouth as he did so, and when he released the guard from his hold, the poor man promptly vomited blood. "Extraordinary, isn't he?" Strange commented.

* * *

_The Batman glided toward two guards, using his grappling gun to boost him toward the two. He slammed into one of the guards, somersaulted into a kneeling position, before using his grappling gun cable to pull the gun from the other thug's grasp. The Batman then hit the goon's head against his knee, before punching upward and chinning him, before knocking him out on the ground._

* * *

The guard continued to struggle in the chair, turning in an attempt to keep Strange in sight. "You knew!" he shouted as flashes of the battle played through his mind. The Batman had taken out multiple armed men in a matter of moments, while the guards could hardly even get in a few good hits. "You knew we couldn't take him down! You knew we were no match for him!"

"Yes but soon we will be! This is merely one more twist of the knife. To test him," Strange explained.

* * *

_Breaking through a wall, the Batman grabbed the guard Strange was currently interrogating. The other TYGER operatives trained their weapons on him, but the Batman simply threw a smoke bomb at them and grappled away, carrying the guard with him. Holding said guard over the edge of a building, the Batman shouted, "Who sent you?"_

"_Hugo. Strange," the guard grit out._

* * *

Back in the TYGER guard facilities, Professor Hugo Strange leaned in as the guard took one last gasping breath and died. Straightening up, Strange lamented, "So, you know my name. Good, because I know everything about you. Your darkest secret. Your ultimate weakness. I know you are, Bruce Wayne." He took no notice of the twelve-year-old blonde girl, who was standing in the corner of the room, a look of absolute horror on her face. The Professor had required her to be at these interrogations in order to pick up more on the Batman's fighting style through her observations. But while the Professor found these sessions informative, Mary found them to be down right cruel and terrifying. Quietly moving toward and opening the door, she walked next door to her own cell, fell to her knees and started bawling. She'd been forced to watch as the light left the guard's eyes as Strange had interrogated, and while she had seen people die before, this experience was entirely different. When she witnessed the light leaving their eyes, Mary, the girl who could see a person's every memory, could only watch as memories flashed before their eyes and then… nothing. No memories, no feelings, not even a final image ingrained. Just a pair of glassy eyes staring back at her, reflecting her own fear and pain. Mary shakily made her way to her feet but was immediately forced to throw herself onto the toilet in her cell as bile made its way up her throat. Emptying her stomach into the bowl, she sobbed. She couldn't do this much longer. One more session like that and she'd probably turn into a catatonic wreck. Clenching her hands into fists and taking a shaky breath, Mary tried to find a little sanctuary in hell on earth.

"TIGER, tiger, burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? What dread grasp

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,

And water'd heaven with their tears,

Did He smile His work to see?

Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?" Mary quoted in an unsuccessful attempt to calm herself. She'd read many different poems in the Library since she'd arrived here and while she enjoyed them immensely, all the books in the world couldn't shield her from the unfortunate reality: Strange would either end up killing her, driving her crazy, or leaving her no other option than to end it herself… unless she made her long awaited move. Mary nodded to herself. Yes… it was time to escape.


	12. The Great Escape

The Great Escape

Tonight. She was going to escape tonight. She'd been planning it for ages, making sure everything was planned out and she'd accounted for every factor. Her gut twisted guiltily when she thought about the doctors at the church and the political prisoners who needed her but she could help them all if she escaped and could get the press' attention. She was sure they'd love to get the inside story of Arkham City without needing to get their hands dirty. Patting her mouth with a napkin, Mary looked up at the Professor, who was poring over a file.

"Professor… If you do not need me, I was wondering if I could spend the rest of the evening in the Library," Mary stated.

"Very well," Strange said and waved a TYGER guard over to escort her, not looking up from the file. Once the TYGER guard closed the door and locked Mary in the Library, she gathered her pack that she'd brought from her room, raced across the room, kneeled down, and began unscrewing a vent cover. Using the ventilation system and a map she'd snuck from the Security Control Room, she found her way through the maze and to the outside. Pushing on the vent cover and using the wall to brace herself, after much struggle, Mary was able to remove the vent cover. A burst of fresh air hit her face but her elation died down when she realized how high up she was.

_**Don't look down**_, her brain told her.

_Why would I look down?_ Mary wondered.

_**It's a natural response to being in a high place**_, her mind reasoned. _**People are curious to see how high up they are but upon discovering it, often regret it.**_

_Doesn't matter,_ Mary replied. _What matters is getting down to the ground._ Hooking her grappling gun to the vent, Mary switched the setting to lower and carefully descended from the building. When her feet touch the floor, Mary's heart burst with elation. She'd done it. She was free.

* * *

Someone knocked on Professor Stange's door.

"Come in." A TYGER guard entered.

"Sir, I went into the Library to collect Miss Noble, but she wasn't there." Strange put down the files he was looking over.

"But she was locked in."

"Yes, but… one of the vents was open," the guard explained and Strange's face went red.

"Send word to the TYGER guards currently patrolling Gotham City. Tell them she's escaped."

* * *

Mary made her way quickly through the streets of Gotham, her senses on overdrive in an attempt to try and stay out of trouble. The problem with doing this at night, she had to be more cautious about criminals. Though with Arkham City now open, the crime rates had significantly dropped. The only good thing Arkham City had done in her opinion.

Once she made it to the payphone and had made sure it wasn't ringing like the ones in Arkham City, she started looking through the phone book to try and find the number of Justin Noble. However, there seemed to be a good number of Nobles in Gotham City.

"Andrew Noble, Brittany Noble, Donna Noble, George Noble, Isabelle Noble, Nathaniel Noble." Mary paused. Right in between Isabelle and Nathaniel Noble, should've been her brother. But his name wasn't there. She began skimming the page, panicked. Where was he? The sound of a truck behind her caught her attention and she turned to see a black truck with a familiar logo on the side: TYGER. She dropped the phonebook and shot off like a gun, trying to run away. But the truck continued to get closer, unaffected by her attempt at running. Turning a corner, Mary attempted to lose them in an alleyway, but instead found herself being cornered in an alleyway. The truck stopped in front of her, blocking her exit and TYGER guards clambered out, guns drawn and aimed at her. Mary briefly considered using her grappling gun to escape, but her plan was shattered when she realized TYGER guards were looking down at her from the roofs of surrounding buildings too. Losing all other options, Mary opened her mouth and screamed.  
"HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, PLEASE HELP! HELP! I DO NOT BELONG IN ARKHAM CITY, PLEASE, HELP!" she screamed. But no one helped her. No one came, and eventually the TYGER guards grew tired of her constant shrieking and fighting so one guard hit her around the head with the butt of his gun. As her eyes closed and her world faded to black, Mary knew her fate was sealed.

* * *

Professor Strange circled Mary like a vulture. Her grappling gun, backpack, and maps had been discovered and confiscated, her body was now bruised and aching from the TYGER guards attacks, and with the Professor circling her like that, Mary knew that she was a goner.

"I'll admit, I am impressed with your escape attempt," Strange commented.

"Enough to let me go?" Mary prodded tentatively.

"No." Mary slumped.

"Enough to not punish me, at least?"

"No." Mary hung her head and tears filled her eyes.

"I just want to go home," she whimpered. Strange lifted her chin up to face him.

"Don't you see child. This _is_ your home." Mary stayed silent, closed her eyes, and lowered her head again. The Professor straightened up and turned to the TYGER guards. "Take her to her cell. I think a few weeks in the dark should change her mind." In that moment, as she was dragged back to the dark, cold cell by Strange's puppets, Mary made a vow; She vowed to herself that no matter what, she would escape Professor Strange… even if escape meant death.


	13. The Greedy Kitten

The Greedy Kitten

After the longest punishment Mary had ever received from Strange, she was allowed out of her cell now only when the Professor needed or wanted her. As such an occasion was tonight, as Mary walked through the door of the Professor's office at his instruction and found a very unusual sight.

At first glance, she believed it to be Batman; with the black suit and animal ears, who else could it be? But then she realized that the person was in fact a woman, a beautiful woman with short black hair hidden under a cowl with cat ears. And unlike the other patients she had interviewed, this woman did not take notice of her presence. Mary sat down in her designated seat and looked this woman over. The woman was strong, she could see that without her special abilities, and not just physically. This was a woman who had fought for her place in the world and Mary immediately respected her for it. But right now, she looked rather broken. Her head was hung, her eyes unfocused.

Mary looked into the woman's eyes. The memories started off with a little girl coming across an older woman's body in the bathtub, the water and floor red with blood. The next were flashes of the girl, older now, pickpocketing, stealing, and doing what it took to survive. Slowly but surely, the desperate woman became a thief, though one who only took from the rich and occasionally used her abilities to aid the less fortunate. Mary's mouth twitched upward ever so slightly. It was like a character in an old book she'd read in the Library. She couldn't remember his name at the moment but she'd liked him. After that, there were many visions of this woman and her encounters with the Batman, most of which involved him letting her go, or even trying to save her, and vise versa. Mary's mouth had gone from twitching to the shadow of a smile. If the Batman thought she was a good enough criminal to let go, then chances were, she was the kindest criminal she'd met so far. And judging from the fact that she only hurt people who tried to hurt her, and rarely killed, the evidence supported her conclusion. Another person was present in this woman's thoughts; a young blonde girl who couldn't be that much older than Mary herself. This woman seemed conflicted about the Batman and the young girl. Mary was about to say something to the woman when a hand roughly grabbed her arm. She looked up to see the Professor giving her a warning look and she sighed slightly. Of course he would keep her from talking to the one nice inmate he'd had her interview. The young psychic slowly got up from her seat and left the room, Strange following her out. The moment the door closed behind her, Mary turned to Strange.

"She is a good person," she said. "She is not like the other criminals; she does not kill, is not crazy, and only steals from people who have more than enough. And she helps people who need it." Strange raised an eyebrow and Mary sighed and continued. "But while she is a good person, she doesn't let things go easily, especially things she's worked for, so–"

"Her greed often puts her at odds with the Batman," Strange finished. Mary surveyed him.

"You are mostly interested in her because of her relationship with Batman." Strange shrugged.

"You have to admit, it's an interesting affair." Mary giggled slightly at his wording.

"Never thought you would be one for gossip." He glared at her and she ducked her head to show her apology without having to say it. Strange began to walk away and Mary followed him. "If you already know everything you want to know about her, then why make me see her?" she inquired.

"It's refreshing to get another thorough, though slightly naïve and innocent analysis of our patients my dear. Speaking of innocence, don't you have a little rhyme to summarize the patient?" Mary sighed and rolled her eyes internally. _This man_.

"OH! why do you nibble away at the cake?  
'Twas never intended for kitten to take;  
"Beware," cried the cat,  
"How you meddle with that,  
So scamper, scamper, scamper away!"

Then Tiny obeyed her old mother the cat,  
But Tittens, the rogue, was too greedy for that;  
He liked the sweet crumbs,  
With the raisins and plums,  
So nibbled, nibbled, nibbled away!

But oh! was he not in a terrible fright,  
When Susan, the kitchen-maid, came with a light!  
And did not he wish  
He'd ne'er tasted the dish,  
When beaten, beaten, beaten away!" Mary quoted. "Happy?"

"Satisfied," the Professor stated. "Now, come along Mary. I have another patient for you to visit." Mary blinked.

"Two? In one day?" Strange chuckled.

"Yes, well, after tonight, it will be rather difficult to converse with them."


	14. One and One

One and One

Considering everything that Mary had been through in the past few months alone, she hardly batted an eyelash when the next patient she saw was a man who was missing half his face. "Who's this Strange?" he growled at the Professor, looking over the young psychic, as though attempting to figure her out.

"My assistant, Two-Face. I assure you she'll only be here for a moment and then we will continue our session," Strange promised. Mary sat down in the chair in front of the man and looked into his eyes, only to promptly feel a headache coming on. This man was confusing and conflicted. He'd had a terrible childhood like most of the others she'd interviewed but hadn't started out as a criminal. In fact, he'd started out very good. Much like the Batman, he'd dedicated his life to helping bring Gotham out of the shadows, only to be turned into the very thing that he despised. And while he was a horrible, horrible man now, she could still sense… something good in him.

"I am done," Mary said, getting up. The Professor opened the door for her and followed her out into the hall. "He is… difficult. Such a contradiction that it is difficult to tell if he can ever be whole again. Though I believe if you gave him the right motivation, he could change his ways." Mary paused again as she went through the thoughts and memories she'd uncovered. "He's also obsessed with duality, which you already know, but it's his entire life. Good and bad, right and wrong, legal and criminal, justice and revenge. A constant battle for control and dominance. Sometimes the good wins out, sometimes the bad. It's all a matter of chance," she explained. "For 'Two little girls are better than one;  
Two little boys can double the fun;  
Two little birds can build a fine nest;  
Two little arms can love mother best;  
Two little ponies must go to a span;  
Two little pockets has my little man;  
Two little eyes to open and close,  
Two little ears and one little nose,  
Two little elbows, dimpled and sweet,  
Two little shoes on two little feet,  
Two little lips and one little chin,  
Two little cheeks with a rose shut in,  
Two little shoulders, chubby and strong,  
Two little legs running all day long.  
Two little prayers does my darling say,  
Twice does he kneel by my side each day,  
Two little folded hands, soft and brown,  
Two little eyelids cast meekly down,  
And two little angels guard him in bed,  
One at the foot and one at the head,'" Mary rhymed. Professor Strange nodded.

"Good." He motioned a TYGER guard over. "Captain, take Miss Noble up to the Security Control Center. I will join you in a few hours."

* * *

After five years of in a cell Mary was used to boredom. But she found that waiting for something in particular made boredom a hundred times worse. So, she was somewhat relieved when the Professor finally joined her.

"What is happening Professor?" she asked him and he smiled sinisterly.

"It's time for our plans to be put into action my dear." She paled.

"You mean –"

"Yes. It's time to collect the Batman."


	15. Arkham City

Arkham City

"This is Vicki Vale, reporting live from Arkham City, the controversial super prison built right here in the heart of Gotham," the blonde reporter said. Mary sighed. If only she could get out there. "In a few moments, Bruce Wayne will be live on stage to explain his sudden interest in Gotham politics. The infamous playboy millionaire has never been one to–"

"It's billionaire Vicki. Millionaires are so last year," a suave sounding dark haired man in a suit corrected as he passed. Mary's eyebrows rose. How in the world was this man Gotham's Dark Knight?

"Mr. Wayne!" the cameras all immediately turned to the man, who made his way up onto the stage.

"Thank you, thank you Gotham!" he thanked the audience. He turned to the wall behind him. "Imprisoned behind these walls, gang leaders are fighting a bloody war in the middle of our once great city. Every inmate of Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Penitentiary has been relocated to this facility. How can this be safe for the People of Gotham?" he asked. Strange smiled.

"Time to go in captain," he instructed into a microphone.

"Today, I am starting the campaign to close Arkham City, and make Gotham safe again," Mr. Wayne said, just as TYGER guard trucks pulled up.

"Remember, Wayne is the priority target," a voice from the radio reminded. Gas canisters were thrown into the crowd and the TYGER guards shouts crackled from the channel.

"Surround him!" one shouted as Mary watched the guards cut off Bruce Wayne's exit routes.

"Hands in the air Wayne! We have Wayne!"

"Target secured." As the butt of a TYGER guard rifle collided with Mr. Wayne's head, Mary wincing at the memory of her own experience with those, the camera began to shake and then went to static. Strange's grin grew even greater.

"The guest of honor will be arriving soon my dear. Get ready."

* * *

Strange activated the electro shock chair and Bruce Wayne awoke with a cry of pain. "Wake up Mr. Wayne. We have much to discuss."

"Strange? You won't get away with this," he growled, searching for the man but only seeing white.

"I already have," Strange smiled. He motioned Mary over and she looked into Bruce's Wayne's wide-open but unable to see clearly. Another shock caused Wayne to shout again, Mary wincing in pity as he did so. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch this man but Strange made it clear that if she so much as let him see her, then he would kill her. Mary hated the Professor and wanted nothing more than to see him defeated by the man he idolized but followed his orders nevertheless. After seeing so many people die, whether second hand or first, Mary feared death and wanted to post pone her meeting it for as long as possible.

"I assume that you thought yourself untouchable. Well as you can see, no one is untouchable," Strange remarked, before giving Wayne another shock.

"Shut Arkham City down! It's out of control," he grit out. Mary smiled. This man was trying to fight Strange even while being tortured.

"Shut it down? By the end of tonight I will be a hero. Just like you… Batman," Strange smiled. He looked at Mary and wordlessly told her to stay in the shadows. She nodded and reluctantly obeyed. Bruce Wayne gazed up at Professor Strange, who was currently leaning over him, eyes a little more focused now. "I feel I should thank you. Capturing Bruce Wayne is so much easier than Batman. And now that we have you, Protocol 10 is ready to begin. It will be my legacy, a monument to your failure. And if you try to stop me, I can guarantee everyone will know your secret." He straightened up and left the room, dragging Mary in front of him. The criminals waiting to be inserted into Arkham City perked up when they saw her.

"Hey sweetheart! Why don't you come over here and join us?" one of them called and the others started catcalling and shouting similar insults. Mary subconsciously moved closer to the Professor, who chuckled and patted her head.

"Don't worry child. No one will harm you here." Giving him a look, Mary shook her head. This man was a genius and yet absolutely ignorant sometimes. Calling over a TYGER guard, Strange instructed, "Take her to the balcony. I will join you momentarily." The guard nodded and he and Mary climbed the ladder. Heading up through the halls of the facility, they eventually made it to the balcony overlooking the Insertion Area. Mary watched as the doors opened and several men in blue jumpsuits tentatively began exiting. _Political Prisoners_, Mary realized sadly. Most of the normal criminals were never this nervous upon entering the city. Several inmates who were gathered climbed over the fence and began beating up the inmates. However, one man was different from all the rest. Bruce Wayne was countering the inmates' attacks with ease, and was even able to help the one surviving political prisoner by fighting off his attacker.

"On your feet Ryder! I said get up!" Bruce Wayne shouted, helping the man to his feet. The two began making way to the gate only to find that the Penguin himself was waiting behind it.

"Oh no," Mary murmured. Penguin hated the Waynes every bit as much as he hated the Joker and Two-Face, and knowing him, he wasn't here just to bid Bruce Wayne hello.

"Well, look who it is!" he cried, as the gates opened to reveal Bruce Wayne helping the prisoner. A man wielding a bat jumped behind Wayne but before Mary could cry out and warn him, a black-gloved hand grabbed her wrist, and Mary looked to see Professor Strange staring her down. "Welcome to Hell Brucey-boy!" the Penguin greeted as the man hit Bruce Wayne and knocked him and the man he was helping to the ground. The Penguin threw his cigar down on the ground. "Nighty-night." With that he kicked Wayne in the face, knocking him out cold. Mary sighed.

"How can you let them do this?" she asked Professor Strange, somewhat rhetorically.

"Quite easily. If someone causes a problem in your plans, you simply do what it takes to remove the problem," he replied.

"But they are innocent," she maintained. He chuckled.

"There is no such thing as innocence. Now come, we have much to do before the night is done." With one last look at Bruce Wayne being dragged away, Mary followed him, back into her pretty little prison.

* * *

"All units, we have confirmation that prisoner 4011 is in the courthouse. I repeat,

Catwoman is in the courthouse," a TYGER guard's voice proclaimed over the communication channel.

"Is she in danger?" Strange asked into the microphone.

"Affirmative, we believe that Dent intends to kill her." Strange chuckled.

"Stand down. Let Two-Face have his fun." Mary gave him another look.

"You are going to let her die too?" He shrugged.

"She's a criminal."

"So are you," Mary pointed out.

"And so is the Batman," Strange retorted. He turned to face her. "Speaking of which, what did you see in him?" he inquired. Mary took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The only other mind she'd ever come across that was as complex as the Batman was the Joker's and as such it took a bit more concentration to dig through his thoughts and memories. He'd been through so much good and bad Mary wondered how anyone could possibly go through what he had and still be able to function, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Then Mary remembered that she had the minds and memories of every person she'd ever really met stuffed into her head, and it made her realize that people are more durable than even themselves may believe.

"I saw… loss… of the people he could never bring back … loneliness… due to lack of understanding, even from his loved ones … anger… at the injustice of the world… frustration… because it will never end… and fear… of them winning and him losing everything." Strange smiled, apparently pleased. "But also…" Strange frowned as the young girl continued, a smile slowly spreading across her face. "Hope… of a better future for his city… strength… courage… selflessness… a hero." The next thing Mary knew, her back was on top of the desk and the Professor was leaning over her, hands around her neck.

"He. Is. No. Hero. Understand?" Strange said. "He deserves to be in Arkham City as much as anyone else here."

"As much as… you?" she choked out and Strange's grip on her neck tightened.

"You're lucky you're still of use to me, otherwise I would've snapped your neck or thrown you out into the street a long time ago," he hissed, before releasing her neck. Mary fell to the floor and started rubbing her neck, coughing. "You are nothing and if it weren't for me you'd still be rotting in a cell in Arkham."

_How is rotting in a cell worse than being in a gilded cage with my only company being scum like you?_ she wondered but didn't say. Provoking him even more at this point would not end well for her. So she bowed her head and stayed silent instead. The Professor glared down at her before turning back to the computers to watch Batman take down a bunch of goons out inside the walls of Arkham City. Once Mary was able to breathe properly, she dragged herself up into her chair and curled up, yawning. Her nightmares had been getting in the way of her sleep, meaning she was feeling a bit more tired lately. She sighed and her eyes started to close. Maybe she could rest for just a minute or two…

* * *

10 hours later, Professor Strange looked upon the little girl curled up in the chair, apparently asleep. He frowned; how could she possibly sleep at a time like this, when the world they had created was so alive with energy? The TYGER guard had given more reports that night than they had in almost the entire existence of Arkham City. He sighed; he'd have to discuss her sleeping habits with her later. Now was their time of victory. He shook her shoulder and said, "Mary. Mary, wake up."

"No," she moaned. The Professor sighed.

"For God's sake, wake up you insolent child or I will make you." She groaned.

"Fine," she yawned, opening her eyes and stretching.

"You have missed a lot tonight my dear," Strange commented.

"So what? Watching them tear each other apart is your hobby, I just sit back and try to ignore the screams. Why did you wake me?"

"Because I have gotten the clearance for Protocol 10," Mary paled, "and I want everyone involved in the process to witness our triumph." The girl reluctantly nodded and got up, following the Professor to the Main Control Room.

"Good evening. Protocol 10 will commence in 30 minutes," Professor Strange said into the microphone. "You all have specific orders for this situation: follow them." The girl stood by his side, looking over the monitors. Her eyes focused on the screen monitoring the heart rates of the TYGER guards. Suddenly, one went out. Blinking, Mary looked at it again. Another one went out.

"Professor," she said, pointing to the heart rate monitors. The Professor glanced at it and realized what was happening.

Turning on the microphone, Strange growled, "Check your numbers" to the guards in the TYGER Confiscated Goods Vault. Mary looked at him.

"Is something wrong?"

"Just an inmate attempting to get into the TYGER vault. Most likely Miss Kyle, attempting to retrieve her loot," he explained. "However, we have more important things to be worrying about." The twelve year old frowned, looking at the heart rate monitors that were continuing to go out, one by one.

"This is TYGER 54. We have confirmation that Batman is in the Steel Mill. I repeat Batman is in the Steel Mill," a guard's voice informed the Professor over the communication channel.

"Good. Make it our first target," Strange instructed. "Protocol 10 will wipe the Batman and the Joker from this earth." Mary crossed her fingers in prayer, hoping the Professor wouldn't notice.

"Target is set."

"Then let Protocol 10 commence," the Professor proclaimed, and the girl beside him began to wonder how long he'd wanted to say that.

"Understood. Commencing in 3… 2… 1…" Wonder Tower and the TYGER guard helicopters then began firing upon the buildings and prisoners that populated Arkham City. Screams of the dying and injured filled the TYGER guard channel as they began to report number of casualties. Professor Strange smiled; his years of hard work and studying had accumulated into this one, glorious evening.

"Look at it Mary. Every criminal in all of Gotham is being purged from the world. Isn't it glorious?" he remarked, partially to his ward, partially to himself. But the child could not answer. In fact, she could not do much of anything, except stare at the screen filled with violence and death that most only saw on television, movie, or video game screens. She could only stare, as political prisoner and common crook alike were brutally slaughtered like dogs on the street, their cries echoing in her ears. She could only watch, as she imagined the smell of charred, rotting flesh, the taste of metallic blood, and felt her heart break more and more with every sound of a gunshot.

"No, no, NO! STOP YOU HAVE TO STOP PLEASE YOU ARE KILLING THEM!" she begged, grabbing Strange's arm but he just threw her off so she started banging on the control panels, trying anything and everything she could to stop the screaming and the blood.

"GUARDS RESTRAIN HER!" the Professor shouted and two TYGER guards grabbed her arms.

"YOU HAVE TO STOP! PLEASE, YOU HAVE TO!" she pleaded as Professor Strange took a syringe from a drawer and stabbed it into her neck. He pushed the plunger and Mary's eyes began to close. The last thing she saw was the Professor standing over her, muttering, "Take her to her room. I will deal with her later." He never did.


	16. The Boy of her Dreams

**A/N: The last chapter. God, this is it. This is the end, isn't it? Well, thank you to everyone who read, followed, favorited, and reviewed, you're all awesome and I'm lucky to have such great readers. I considered doing a sequel to this but I have so many other things that I want to do right now, I think this character's story is probably done... that and if I gave her a sequel, I'd probably end up killing her or something. I seem to do that to my characters a lot. Plus, Professor Hugo Strange was a major part of Mary's story and he's dead so... I mean, you can't exactly get much more dead than getting stabbed through the chest and then getting caught in an explosion. But anyway, thank you all and I hope you liked this!**

The Boy of her Dreams

"Yet another hell of a night, huh?" Jim Gordon asked the Batman, staring up at the gates of Arkham City.

"You're telling me," the Batman replied. Hours of fighting the Joker, the Penguin, Ra's al Ghul, Mr. Freeze, the Mad Hatter, Clayface, the Identity Thief, Zsasz, Deadshot, and the Riddler had taken their toll on his energy and with the sun beginning to rise.

"We at least some good came out of it," Gordon commented, motioning over to the group of people being checked over by ambulances. The undercover cops, the medical team, and the political prisoners were all covered in blankets and holding hot beverages… except for one blonde doctor who was too busy hugging a little blonde girl to accept anything. The Batman nodded.

"I suppose. You'll take care of her?" he inquired. Gordon nodded back.

"I'm looking up her brother's address now. She'll be home in no time." The Batman nodded and handed Gordon a small communicator.

"Keep me posted." Gordon nodded back and the Batman took off into the night, the young but heavy blue eyes of the girl watching him as he left.

* * *

An hour later, Gordon knocked on the door of a town house apartment not five miles from Arkham City. A young blonde man opened the door, bleary eyed, and asked, "Can I help you officer?" Gordon looked him over.

"Are you by any chance Justin Noble?" The young man nodded.

"Yes."

"Brother of Mary Iris Noble?" At that his eyes widened and he suddenly looked awake.

"Yeah," he breathed, the pain and sorrow evident in his voice. Gordon nodded.

"You need to come with me son." Justin Noble looked confused but nodded and soon joined the Commissioner. Gordon unlocked the door of his car to reveal skinny, pale girl with limp blonde hair about twelve years old. The young blonde man's jaw dropped.

"Mary?" he gasped and the little girl looked at him, questioningly.

"Justin?" she murmured. He nodded. "Justin!" she cried and leaped out of the car and into her brother's arms. They were crying and holding onto each other with their lives but neither cared for neither one of them had been so relieved or happy in years. As Justin Noble spun his little sister around, Mary Noble laughed with glee and smiled.

She'd done it. She'd escaped. She was free. She was home.

* * *

Gordon was sitting in a chair in Justin Noble's living room, while Mary and her brother sat on the couch, the little girl's head in her brother's lap. "Mary was always different," Justin explained, stroking her hair. "She only lasted in school a week before Mom and Dad pulled her out. Notes from teachers and other parents said Mary was 'Unnerving, violent, moody, and should be separated form the other children.' They home schooled her from then on. Not that she really needed it. She was smart, she couldn't express it very well but I knew she was. And for a while she seemed stable, but when she was seven there was an incident." He faltered. "See, I… I wasn't there. I was in college. If I'd been there I could've helped her, kept her out of trouble. Mom and Dad had company over for a business dinner and she snuck down, declared that Mr. Smith was having an affair, as was Mrs. Smith, and Mr. Jones was secretly gay, and Mrs. Jones was a drug addict. One of them called her a liar and she attacked them. That was sort of the last straw for my parents and they apparently sent her to Arkham, thinking they'd never have to deal with her again. When I found out what happened, I tried to get them to release her, but they said she'd died in a prison riot. Being the idiot I was, I believed them." He took a deep breath. "But after that… I didn't want anything to do with them. I cut off all ties with them, started paying for law school myself, and tried to live with the guilt of leaving her with them… and letting her die." Gordon nodded.

"You'll take care of her?" he inquired.

"Of course. I promise you, I will never leave her again," he swore and Gordon nodded again, before standing.

"I'd better be going. Press is going to have a field day and I've got a lot of work ahead of me," he said and got up to leave. Justin got up, leaving an apparently asleep Mary on the couch, walked him to the door, thanked him, and watched him walk out.

"NO!" a young voice shouted. Gordon turned and looked to find Mary in the doorway, but she wasn't looking at him. Instead she was looking up at gargoyle high up on the building next door. "Please do not go. Please? I do not want you to go," she said to it and the Batman emerged.

"I'm not going forever. I'll come back soon. I promise." Mary looked like she wanted to protest but looked into the Batman's eyes and stopped. She lowered her head and focused her eyes on her black boots.

"Ok. Goodbye Mister Batman," she muttered and the Batman swooped off into the night sky, Justin Noble and Commissioner Gordon looking on as he left.

* * *

The next day, late in the afternoon, Justin Noble answered the ringing phone (after assuring Mary that it wasn't Zsasz) and almost dropped it in surprise when he realized who was on the other end of the line.

"Mr. Justin Noble? This is Bruce Wayne, and I have proposal for you concerning your sister."


End file.
